Fox Business is dumbed-down biz news

Bill Mann writes in the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat on Sunday that after 10 months, the Fox Business Network still has yet to find its niche.

Mann writes, “When you hear a weekday anchor announce, ‘We have Jesse Ventura standing by to tell us what the next president needs to do to get the country’s economic house in order,’ it’s clear you’re not watching CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo.

“Fox relies heavily on a Fox News-like parade of heavily cosmeticized and attractive ‘Stepford Anchors.’ Its goofy, surreal ‘Happy Hour’ (2 p.m. weekdays, repeated at 8 p.m.), anchored by the lovely Rebecca Gomez and her long-haired ‘co-anchor’ Cody Willard, is a perfect example. One recent night, they interviewed a woman who created a line of specialty greeting cards for inmates. (Sample text: ‘I know you’ve made some unwise choices in your life, but I still love you . . .’)

“And when the markets are open, you find yourself shaking your head at some of the programming.

“A regular segment called ‘Minyanville’ has that media company’s co-founder Todd Harrison sitting in front of the company’s cartoon bear logo (Hoofy and Boo by name) offering supposedly lighthearted perspectives on the economy.”

Read more here.