The Financial Week That Was

By SteveK 

As the markets continue to dip and the economy remains the topic du jour following the turmoil last week, TVNewsers reflected on the story.

CNN senior business correspondent Ali Velshi is interviewed in the New York Times, and describes the need for selective wording. “We’re very careful not to throw words around like ‘meltdown’ and ‘free fall,'” he said.

This weekend on CNN’s Reliable Sources, Velshi said the meltdown stories came “too late.” “It didn’t have that urgency,” he said. “One of the things about the Dow in particular or stock market is it gives you urgency. You can see that number in the corner of your screen urgently. Gas prices, you can see urgently. You can see them change every day.”

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Broadcasting & Cable’s Robert Marich talked to CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo and FBN’s Alexis Glick in the wake of the coverage last week.


Bartiromo discusses how she reports on the turmoil, her most memorable CNBC moment and her interview with Gov. Sarah Palin (before she was named the VP candidate) for the CNBC special, “The Hunt for Black Gold,” airing Wednesday.

“I think people need perspective, analysis and depth. I am not a fan of sound-bite situations,” she says.

Glick, who appeared on ABC’s 20/20 program on Friday, talks about how reporting can be a calming influence, how to personalize the situation and whether people’s distrust in the stock market may cause tune-out.

“I worry less about what it means in the long term for ratings and more about what it means for all of us,” she says. “The U.S. government is now in the insurance, the housing and the financial-services businesses. Every taxpayer in this country now has a stake.

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