Phyllis Furman of the New York Daily News interviewed CNBC anchor Joe Kernen, who has written a book about how the media and others portray business interests.
Here is an excerpt:
Q: Give us some examples of how you see business people portrayed in the media.
A: There was a study done of TV which looked at hundreds of hours of prime time. You were four times more likely to commit a crime if you were a CEO than if you were a drug dealer or a gang leader.
How about “WALL-E”? The company that ruined the world was called Buy n Large (a fictional version of Walmart). So the entire planet was ruined by, as far as I can tell, Walmart.
Think about the guys who have created wealth in this country. Walmart not only held down the consumer price index, but I think there are a million employees at Walmart.
Q: How much have your views been shaped by your years of grilling business leaders on “Squawk Box?”
A: A lot of it, obviously. I was also a stockbroker before that. I guess I have always been pro-capitalism. A sportscaster doesn’t have to like the teams, but at least you have to like the sport.
