Volatility Is The Friend of Business News: Is Fox Making New Friends?

By Bess Levin

This week may be the first real test for the Fox Business Network, TV Decoder’s Brian Stelter points out today. Market turmoil tends to drive up viewership for television business news, and FBN is running hard to catch the wave of attention directed at the rocky markets.
While CNBC was basically shut down yesterday, FBN carried the news of yesterday’s global meltdown live. CNBC, however, is responding with a two hour “Market Survival Guide” special that will air tonight from 7-9 PM. Because, see, CNBC is quick and nimble—like the Fed.
CNBC pulled out all the stops this morning, throwing Cramer on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange to echo the sentiment of some traders that the Fed should cut another 50 basis points. Charlie Gasparino got a little rough, declaring that “deleveraging is a bitch.”
We asked Bess what Fox did this morning and she replied, “I didn’t go to Burger King.”
Stocks Down, Interest In Business News Up [TVDecoder]

Comments (19)

  1. 1
    Posted by JMAN | January 22, 2008 at 1:16 PM

    Who cares about Cramer, the guy is a hack. I was glad Barrons xposed him for what he is. This is the same guy that said he loved BSC at 105 during his little “no idea” rant. Dont even get me started on Gasparino, he not a tool hes the entire box.

  2. 2
    Posted by Mk | January 22, 2008 at 1:43 PM

    Yeah. Gasparino is as cool as sleeves in summer…

  3. 3
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 1:54 PM

    does Bess have another job besides Dealbreaker? like another publication that she writes for or, i dunno, a garage where she helps out on the weekends so that she can make rent?

  4. 4
    Posted by anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 1:57 PM

    Fox ate CNBC’s lunch. With the world melting down, CNBC was showing reruns, and Bloomberg was posting old futures numbers.

  5. 5
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 1:59 PM

    right, but nobody was watching as usual

  6. 6
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 2:14 PM

    @1:54…she IS this site, so they probably compensate her jsut fine.

  7. 7
    Posted by Ted Turner | January 22, 2008 at 2:27 PM

    FBN=waste of a channel. Just like most of the channels. 900 channels and nothing to watch? I’ve hear this over and over from all sorts of people. A large part of the problem is that stupid firms own multiple channels – hence multiple channels that suck.

  8. 8
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 2:35 PM

    i do not see bess on this list
    http://paulamooney.blogspot.com/2007/05/paulas-list-of-blogger-salariesare-you.html
    but the bloggers that get anything like enough to pay bess as an employee have literally millions of readers. hopefully bess has a strong revenue sharing agreements when she was first hired as DB intern

  9. 9
    Posted by HAM'05 | January 22, 2008 at 2:46 PM

    bess has a weekly gig at the box to supplement her already substantial income. more specifically, she puts babies on spikes and then does an interpretive dance set to new order’s ‘true faith’ about the origins of vagina dentata
    GO GIANTS

  10. 10
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 3:01 PM

    vagina dentata? i am intrigued, and a little frightened

  11. 11
    Posted by GAnalYst | January 22, 2008 at 3:17 PM

    And I’m wondering what “the box” is?
    And while we’re at it, what is this fascination with the Giants. By you and my entire office. So they won and are headed for the super bowl. You’re not on the team, you’re not related to any team members. You just happen to live in a city across the river from Giants stadium. Its like, I’m a Giants fan, the Giants won, therefore I’m a winner too. You straight boys are so dumb.

  12. 12
    Posted by Market Maven | January 22, 2008 at 3:22 PM

    Fox is the west palm beach of TV– littered with botox, bad busts, and a busted marketing plan. Its a network for the other market- a low class segment who is working through their subprime default.

  13. 13
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 5:11 PM

    Rebecca Gomez has great busts

  14. 14
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 5:16 PM

    @511
    One Word: CLAMAN

  15. 15
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 8:10 PM

    FBN scored a point against CNBC, but it is obviously way behind. Free word of advice to FBN et. al.: stop going for the jugular. Sever the achilles tendon and you’ll slow the leader. Yesterday’s coverage was a good start. Keep cherry picking and later on we can talk about those viable kidney punches.

  16. 16
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 8:58 PM

    Jim cramer ruined my day.for some reasons I hate seeing that guy on TV.he was on Squawk the whole morning.good Lord there’s FBN and Bloomberg.

  17. 17
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 9:03 PM

    Mad Cow Cramer is annoying and without him on CNBC special 7-9 pm tonight is Priceless.

  18. 18
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 10:39 PM

    BLOOMBERG BETTER THAN SQUAWK IN THE A.M.
    SQUAWK=BORING SH***Y VIEWING

  19. 19
    Posted by Anonymous | January 22, 2008 at 11:30 PM

    @10:39
    You mean you don’t like watching Golddigger Burnett gab off the teleprompter while Haines snorts ham slices?
    Not even a little bit?

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