Fortune magazine’s Barney Gimbel has some interesting observations on the Maria Bartiromo/Citigroup scandal, noting that it’s been mostly the Rupert Murdoch-owned New York Post that has been pushing the issue.
Murdoch, of course, is also behind the launch of the Fox Business Channel to compete with Bartiromo’s CNBC.
Gimbel also points out that Bartiromo’s name recognition has never been higher.
He wrote, “For Jeff Zucker, tapped to succeed Wright, the scandal became a distraction. The Money Honey is CNBC’s biggest star, the cable network is coming off its best year ever, and Bartiromo has long been rumored to be considering a defection to Fox. Right on cue, on Feb. 8, News Corp.’s Rupert Murdoch formally announced that the long-anticipated Fox Business Channel would debut in the fall, and he took direct aim at CNBC: ‘We have to recruit some money honeys,’ chuckled Murdoch. Coincidentally (or not), his usually aggressive New York Post has mostly held fire on Mariagate.”
Read more here.
