Turn it off. Kidding, though that’d probably work. Barry Ritholtz was recently asked what he’d do to fix “financial television.” As there seems to be one network in particular need of help, he’s addressed what the good people over in Englewood Cliffs can do to make themselves more watchable. A few pointers from BR:
1. Stop Yelling. Stop interrupting. Stop Talking Over Each Other: This is not Jerry Springer, its serious business. People’s retirement and investments are at stake. Please treat it that way.
5. Lose the Octobox. Fire whoever came up with the Decabox. ‘Nuff said.
7. Fact Check: An awful lot of things on air get stated with authority and confidence. Much of them are little more than junk or pop myths. Why is it that the more dubious a proposition is, the greater the confidence the speaker seems to muster? Consider fact checking as much of the statements that are made on air as possible, and making frequent corrections.
14. Stop the Bull/Bear Debate: This is a vast over-simplification of the market, and often does not serve the audience well. There are nuances and variables that get lost when you reduce everything to black and white.
15. Partisanship: Leave your personal politics at home. Viewers don’t care what most of you think.
We’re definitely in agreement with all of the above, though obviously the suggestions might be a tough sell, as they’re pretty much telling CNBC to not be “so CNBC.” Like point one– would you know it was CNBC if people weren’t yelling at each other, cutting each other off, or speaking in a pitch only dogs can hear? This is who they are, and if you were to ask network execs/talking heads, what do you think is your best attribute, they’d probably say, “our top notch ability to interrupt each other/our guests.” The biggest problem here is that CNBC actually thinks its viewers enjoy this shit, and are somehow fooled into believing it’s financial drama, which is why the the Call of the Wild segment was created.
I love you you’re perfect now change
David Einhorn Is Optimistic The Obama Administration Can Fix This Thing, Provided It Changes Everything It’s Doing
By Bess LevinSure, the Greenlight founder is disappointed with Obama and Co, which he believes is “following the same path as the Bush administration,” as it attempts to bring us back to the heady days of 2006 (“by propping up asset prices and reflating the popped credit bubble, subsidizing bank creditors and shareholders, and delaying needed bank recapitalizations, while hoping for an economic recovery”). But! Einhorn is confident Bush II is smart enough to wake up and do the right thing. Here are his closing remarks from the Ira Sohn conference. Have to say, we are loving this passive aggressive side. Notice how throws the campaign’s favorite word back at them?
“I am optimistic because even though I believe that Secretary Geithner is leading us down the wrong path, President Obama has demonstrated an ability to change his mind in other areas. To me, this reflects the work of an intelligent pragmatist acting upon fresh understanding. I am optimistic that President Obama is capable of making similar reassessments of the economic rescue plan, and changing direction there as well.”
David Einhorn Strikes Again [Daily Intel]
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