Media Moves

As CNBC turns 25, Deogun reflects on business journalism

April 30, 2014

Posted by Chris Roush

Nikhil Deogun is the senior vice president and editor in chief, business news, overseeing Business Day content, coverage and production at CNBC.

Deogun joined CNBC in 2010 as managing editor of business news.

Deogun joined CNBC from The Wall Street Journal, where he was the deputy managing editor, a position he has held since July 2008. Deogun oversaw all financial coverage for the news organization and directed the Journal’s international network of bureaus and correspondents.

Prior to this, Deogun was editor of the Money & Investing section, where he oversaw coverage of Wall Street, banking, hedge funds, private equity, mutual funds, financial markets, investing and personal finance. From March 2004, Deogun was Deputy Chief of the Journal’s Washington bureau. In this role, he focused on overseeing business and regulatory coverage in addition to shepherding investigative projects.

Deogun joined The Journal as a reporter in Atlanta in 1994 and moved to the New York bureau in June 1999 to cover mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance for the paper’s Money & Investing section. Deogun later spent three years as editor of the Media & Marketing section where he oversaw coverage of entertainment, publishing, advertising, consumer products, fashion, retail and other industries.

Deogun grew up in Calcutta, India, and attended the Doon School in India. He earned a bachelor’s degree and graduated summa cum laude from Muskingum College in New Concord, Ohio. He then received a master’s degree from the University of Missouri’s School of Journalism.

Deogun spoke by email with Talking Biz News about CNBC’s 25th anniversary, which is currently being celebrated, its naming of the 25 most influential business people in the past 25 years, and business journalism. What follows is an edited transcript.

What does picking the most influential business people in the past 25 years have to do with business news coverage?

For 25 years, CNBC has had the privilege of giving its viewers a front-row-seat to the biggest stories and access to the most influential business leaders in the global economy so we thought it was the perfect time to definitively determine the rebels, icons and leaders who have shaped the world of business and, in some instances, our lives.

The members of the CNBC First 25, through their companies, innovations and leadership, have played an integral role in the global business and financial landscape over the past quarter century.  As journalists, we are fundamentally in the storytelling business and the stories of these individuals have shaped the business and financial news stories of our time.

How do you think it helps your viewers by airing content about these people?

NBCUniversal Executives - Season 2013We always want to keep our viewers and users ahead of the game but one of the first lessons of looking forward is to know where you have been. What was most exciting about delving into these stories was to see the arc of people’s lives and what made them great against the backdrop of how business itself has changed.  A roster of all-star journalists contributed to our digital coverage of the list.

There is a wonderful overview piece by former Wall Street Journal managing editor Paul Steiger and a personal technology piece by co-executive Editor of Re/code Walt Mossberg that vividly describes how the business landscape has changed.  There is also a piece by Eric Schurenberg, editor in chief of Inc., identifying the never-say-die spirit of entrepreneurs.

How did the idea come about?

We have a host of ideas for the 25th anniversary, many of them looking at the next 25 years, but it inevitably prompted us to reflect about the individuals and companies we have covered for the past 25 years. We picked a blue-ribbon advisory board comprising Steiger, Yale University’s Jeffrey Sonnenfeld and Professor Herminia Ibarra of INSEAD.  Paul Maidment, founding editor of FT.com and former executive editor of Forbes, served as contributing editor on the project.

Based on our criteria, we initially came up with a list of 200 contenders and then we asked our loyal audience for its views.  Guided by the advisory board, our audience and our global editorial leadership, we cut the list down to 100.  That’s when the decisions really got difficult. After much spirited debate, we came up with the final ranked list announced Monday across CNBC’s multiple platforms and around the world.

How are you incorporating the First 25 into your regular coverage?

We have incorporated the CNBC First 25 extensively across CNBC’s multiple platforms and around the world.  CNBC featured extensive coverage of the CNBC First 25 throughout CNBC’s Business Day programming and on CNBC Digital.  The on-air coverage culminated with a one-hour special last night, “Rebels, Icons & Leaders: The CNBC First 25,” anchored by CNBC’s Tyler Mathisen, which we are also broadcasting internationally. CNBC.com has robust coverage of the list, including extensive profiles, in-depth feature stories, slideshows and videos.

We also created video vignettes for each member of the CNBC First 25 that ran on-air and live online.  To view our coverage on social platforms, search #CNBC25 and you can follow @CNBC25. Since the initial announcement of the 200 contenders, the list has created some great on-air fodder and debate for our anchors, correspondents and guests, reflecting the passion we have for what we cover. The topper has been to have some of the members of the First 25 have been appearing on CNBC all week

What does it mean for CNBC to be 25 years old?

CNBC has increasingly been at the forefront of business news for the past 25 years. We have a global footprint with networks and bureaus around the world and a vast portfolio of digital products.  Our content is also on radio and we have been producing “Nightly Business Report” for the past year. CNBC is now integrated across multiple platforms globally so it’s hard to imagine that only 25 years ago we didn’t exist.

How do you keep the network’s content fresh without getting stale?

We have a Delta force of reporters and producers around the globe, all of whom are trained to attack the stories of the day and look behind corners. We feature real-time data and instant analysis and broadcast about a thousand interviews around the world each week with the best minds in business and politics.

What is in store for CNBC for the next 25 years?

You beat me to the punch. We are actually in the early stages of coming up with the CNBC Next 25, a proprietary list that looks at the most important thinkers, leaders, doers, disruptors and innovators of the next 25 years.  We are inviting the members of the CNBC First 25 to nominate someone they believe stand to change the business landscape over the next quarter century. We will announce that list this fall.

In terms of CNBC, we keep innovating; we keep trying to be as indispensable to the lives of business news consumers as we have been for the last 25 years.

You’ve been in business journalism for as long as CNBC has been around. How has it changed?

Chris, it has been a long time since our days in Atlanta as young reporters, but for the record and just so you don’t age me too much, it was 21 years ago — not 25 — that I started in the business.

I don’t think either of us ever anticipated the depth and pace of change. The way the world consumes media changes almost daily. News is told and broken in real-time and on multiple platforms with social media playing a huge role today.  The world is getting smaller and critical events anywhere trigger profound effects everywhere.  Information and capital move in moments, not minutes. That said, the fundamentals of journalism that you preach at UNC and that you practice as a journalist yourself hopefully still hold true.

What was CNBC’s role in that change?

We are increasingly in a real-time world and we are a network built for real-time. We position ourselves to deliver important business and financial news stories anytime, anywhere and on any platform.

Subscribe to TBN

Receive updates about new stories in the industry daily or weekly.

Subscribe to TBN

Receive updates about new stories in the industry.