“Invigorating, unbelievably busy, very inspiring.” That’s how Fox Business Network’s Liz Claman described the scene at the World Economic Forum in Davos last week. With world and industry leaders in town from every corner of the globe, Claman said, “It’s sort of a once a year type of opportunity.”
Following a Shabbat dinner hosted by Israeli President Shimon Peres, Claman took a moment to talk with TVNewser about her experiences at the conference, which was teaming with world and economic leaders.
“In New York, you have to hunt them down,” Claman says. But in Davos, there are major newsmakers everywhere. Though sometimes you have to get creative.
“I don’t necessarily go to where the center of attention would normally be,” she said. “I was way more interested in hunting out the story elsewhere.”
Claman grabbed President Clinton after she got a tip from a CEO she was chatting with after an interview. She snagged interviews at hotel cocktail parties and after panel discussions. “I don’t ever want to be stuck like superglue at a camera location. That’s when you miss real stories,” she said. She even shot a standup on skis.
“I said, ‘All the CEOs go skiing, so we need to as well,'” she told us, adding that they handed a camera to a Swiss production assistant and had her snowboarding backwards for the shot. “It was just something different to do.”
Claman rattled off a list of names too long to print here of CEOs and other leaders that she’d spoken to about everything from twitter to health care. It was her first trip to the World Economic Forum and Claman said the only thing she’s covered that compares is the annual shareholders meeting for Berkshire Hathaway, though on a much smaller scale.
She told us the atmosphere among the business media there was “competitive,” but also, “dorm-like and festive.” “Al-Jazeera came in and asked to borrow our flowers for a shot,” she said.
Claman also moderated a panel on renewable energy and said it was “just fascinating to be in that room.” She told us it gave her an opportunity to feel like she was a part of the events and “not just an observer.”
FBN has been going through some major changes of late, adding Don Imus and John Stossel, and shaking up its dayside lineup. When asked if she’s noticed any changes, she said, “It feels like we’re going up. Straight up.”
Earlier in the morning, she’d done a hit on Imus’ program. “It was so much fun,” she said, noting that afterward she’d received a slew of emails from business people in the states. “A year ago that would have been harder to come by.”
Claman would soon be heading back to the United States after a bustling and unique few days, but of that evening’s dinner with President Peres and other leaders she said, “Tonight was a crowning moment.”