Why Quick's column already is much better than Bartiromo's

When Fortune magazine announced last week that CNBC anchor Becky Quick would begin writing a regular column for the glossy, a few snickers were heard among business media insiders.

Here we go again, another business magazine trying to pull in readers with name recognition and a pretty face.

CNBC anchor Maria Bartiromo had written a column for BusinessWeek before being dumped last year when Bloomberg bought that title. Bartiromo’s column had been roundly criticized as being too soft on business. After all, it simply regurgitated what corporate executives said to her in response to a question.

However, after reading Quick’s first column, I can say that her effort — in one attempt — already surpasses the total work of her CNBC co-worker.

Quick, a former Wall Street Journal reporter, goes after CEOs who don’t do a good job of admitting when their companies make a mistake, particularly one that injures a consumer.

She pulls no punches. “Most of us learn in kindergarten that when you hurt someone, you say you’re sorry,” Quick writes. “But captains of industry seem to have forgotten the rules of common decency. Instead of manning up and admitting their mistakes, far too often corporations and CEOs choose to deny, deflect, or deceive.”

Ouch. The column is here. It’s in the newly redesigned Fortune, which is a vast improvement from the old version.