Categories: OLD Media Moves

Fox Business keeps rolling during weekend to cover crisis

Paul Gough of the Hollywood Reporter writes Sunday about how Fox Business Network was live for a good chunk of the weekend to cover breaking news about the Wall Street bailout.

Gough writes, “Fox Business Channel carried live at 12:20 a.m. ET Sunday an update by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Congressional leaders on the status of the bailout bill, which could be tentatively approved as early as Sunday night or Monday. FBN’s coverage of that was simulcast on Fox News Channel, the first time in the channels’ history that they have carried the same feed.

“That was atop seven hours of live business coverage, aimed at the average investor, from the channel’s top talent on Saturday. And Fox Business Network has aired live cut-ins updating Sunday and planned a two-hour special Sunday night.

“‘It could well be the defining moment for Fox Business,’ said Kevin Magee, executive vp of the Fox Business Network, on Sunday afternoon from the network’s New York City headquarters. ‘We decided we needed that approach for what we think is the most important business story of our lifetime, and come at it as newspeople.’

“That meant scrapping FBN’s plans for Saturday and Sunday, which during the day included a lot of infomercials.”