Note to CNBC: This is the problem

Business news cable network CNBC, already reeling this year for having to defend one of its stars for taking a plane ride on a corporate jet of a company it covers, is giving out awards to executives.

The Third Annual CNBC Executive Leadership Awards were given out recently, and they were given to people such as Citigroup CFO Sallie Krawcheck and the CEOs of Johnson & Johnson and Google.

Can anybody else think of a business media outlet that gives out such major awards to the people and companies they cover?

CNBC, which televised the event on Monday, has a bigger ethics problem than Mariagate. The line is being blurred even further between the journalism and the promotional aspects of what it does. I note that the Wall Street Journal had been a sponsor of these awards, but it’s name is no longer attached to the event. Did they get smart?