Interest in business news on the rise

Brian Stelter of The New York Times writes Tuesday how viewership of CNBC and Fox Business Network will likely rise this month due to the dramatic ups and downs of the stock market.

Stelter wrote, “Despite being dark on Monday, CNBC says it has an advantage in its nearly 20 years of experience. ‘This is not the first time we’ve had a market selloff,’ the CNBC anchor Melissa Francis said Tuesday morning. ‘We’ve been through this before, we’ll get you through it again.’

“The network showcased its top talent on Tuesday, positioning Jim Cramer, the high velocity host of the 6 p.m. show ‘Mad Money,’ on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange alongside co-host Erin Burnett for the opening bell. As the Newsday television critic Verne Gay wrote: ‘What would a panicky day be without Jim?’

“The early coverage on Fox Business did not seem quite as dramatic, but it did not down-play the market tumult either, as might be expected from a network that says it takes a pro-business perspective.

“‘All 50 members of the Fox 50 are all down big-time,’ Fox Business anchor Alexis Glick said three minutes into the trading day, referring to the network’s index of household-name stocks.”

Read more here.