Rupert Murdoch: CNBC's On-Air Talent Not 'All That Good'

Rupert Murdoch spoke last week with TheStreet.com. In the interview the media tycoon denied interest in the New York Times, dissed Twitter, and dug into CNBC.

Question: Are you annoyed you don't own CNBC?

Murdoch: No

Question: Why not?

Murdoch: Because we're going to enjoy the competition. We have to get wider distribution and that takes time. We are further ahead with Fox Business than we were at this stage with Fox News, and Fox News today is one of our very greatest and largest assets.

Question: Why don't you hire away all the CNBC on-air people?

Murdoch: We don't think they're all that good. There are some good ones, but that'll be up to [FNC/FBN chairman] Roger Ailes. We create or we discover previously undiscovered talent and make them into stars.

Comments

[whitehawk]

Mr. Murdoch; I laugh when I see your staff, anchors etc., and I laugh when I see your fans. You have the most uptight, anal, angry, volitile, inefficient anchors ever. OK! Shep Smith is definitly Ok, but the rest and your guests on the show remind me of Iraq, under Saddam Hussein's reign, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Russia etc.,. There is no intellect with these employees, that reflects badly on you Mister, very badly. What exactly are you proud of? It certainly isn't honest, ethical or moral broadcasting. It is hateful, incitement of raw emotion, twisted to represent a radical bunch. so many countries act like your media outlet. Pathetic and trashy.

[JackieOC]

You are so right..... but remember Murdoch hires actors not journalists. What he is proud of is that they have been able to dress them up like reputable news people and bamboozle millions of followers of FAUX News. Correct, they have no intellect or depth to what they choose to harp on. Offer them more money and they'd be right over at MSNBC touting the liberal side (not that MSNBC would have anything to do with them). What is pathetic and frightening is the promotion of lies and dishonesty, very much like dictatorial regimes and managed news. While they scream socialism and facism at the liberals, it is exactly what they are doing. The scariest thing is people buy in to their propaganda. Murdoch knows this. He doesn't care about truth, ethics or morals. It's all about greed, promoting corporate interests in this country and making it look like middle class concerns are all about entitlements and their selfish desire for a decent standard of living. Corporate owns this country and FAUX followers are too blind to see what they are really selling.

[hartooniansolutions]

How the hell does an Australian own so many media outlets in the US? Where is the FCC?

Incidentally, I work occasionally for Fox Television Entertainment. You know....Family Guy, American Dad...real left wing stuff.

Rupert's plan is obvious to anyone who works for him. Create controversy by having two different ideological divisions within your company. That way the political entertainment is self sustaining,

Go Rupert, go!

[somethingworthsaying]

there's no reason for murdoch to buy away CNBC "talent." kind of a stupid question. clearly, what this writer DOESN'T know is the CNBC has hired away Fox people (producers) to reproduce Fox's antics on CNBC. what you are witnessing right now.

[DestinationsUnknown]

Comcast to remove a few things

C-span 2 from thier basic

said they need room

give me a break


Progress? We had the do nothing congress for 6 out of 8 yrs during Bush- what did they do?

Telecommunications Lobbying created their oligopolies, (monopolies are illegal in USA)

Wonder why we can’t compete globally?

WHY does JAPAN offer World’s Fastest Broadband at $20 Per Home but America does not?

4-3-09-By Saul Hansell

The fastest consumer broadband in the world is the 160-megabit-per-second service offered by J:Com, the largest cable company in Japan.

The cable modem needed for that speed costs about $60, compared with about $30 for the current generation.

By contrast, Verizon is spending an average of $817 per home passed to wire neighborhoods for its FiOS fiber optic network and another $716 for equipment and labor in each home that subscribes, according to Sanford C. Bernstein & Company.

Is this ok with the GOP? Aren't we the suckers

[DestinationsUnknown]

Almost like the GOP creates history:

MEMO TO TEACH GOP
Internal GOP Memo Attacks Bush Handling Of Economy

An internal GOP memo prepared to brief some House Republicans as part of an ongoing probe into the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal takes direct aim at an unlikely target: Former President George W. Bush.

The memo directly blames Bush’s handling of the economic meltdown, and it coins a striking new phrase linking Bush and Obama and blaming both administration’s bailout policies in tandem for exacerbating the meltdown: “The Great Bush-Obama Economic Intervention.”

[ROBOT8]

LIES ARE EASIER TO TELL THAN THE TRUTH RUPERT HATE IS EASIER TO INSTIL THAN WISDOM............SO LONG AS YOU STICK TO HATRED AND LIES YOU'LL ALWAYS COME OUT AHEAD ..UNTIL YOU'RE REVEALED FOR WHAT YOU ARE.....THEN IT ALL COMES BACK ON YOU TIMES 100 AND THAT'S USUALLY WHEN YOU'RE VERY OLD AND HELPLESS LIKE YOUR VICTIMS.......... AND CAN'T FIGHT BACK.....

[DestinationsUnknown]

We create or we discover previously undiscovered talent and make them into stars.

create?

ok aussie

[ECB]

Roppie I agree with you - But yours are 10X worse.

[ECB]

Ruppie

[fisher65]

shep is the only sane person on fox

[martiniandabotoxchaser]

It behooves him to criticize the competition....business move and no real statement about the talent.

[BatedBreath]

I have to agree with rupert.

[deeppeace]

Yikes. Me, too. Scary, isn't it? But then, FBN would have to improve many times over to measure up to CNBC's weak lineup.

[desertman]

Compared to anything else in MSM it's not that bad however.

[SCG]

Not in any defense of CNBC, but between theTed Baxter wanna bes and bimbos, FOX isn't exactly a discerning place for journalism either.

[nance72]

A court in Florida (of course) ruled in favor of FOX news against one of it's "reporters" who said she was being pressured/ forced to report false news.

The court ruled that FOX did not have to tell the truth in it's programs.

Google it ! Like we didn't know they lie !

They should have to have a banner running accross the screen stating what is being said dould be and probably is not the truth.

[santeelutz]

Mr. Murdoch,

Must I remind you that you own Fox News whose interface looks worse than my local news station in Columbia, South Carolina.

[northstar11]

i watched fox once and i saw stars----then i stopped banging my head on the wall.

[Polarcap]

why did you stop?

[stunsitfel]

Don't stop there Bobby, there is no talent at MSNBC or NBC.

[northstar11]

for NBC it is nothing new----- used to stand for Nothing But Carson.

[stunsitfel]

Point made.