Bloomberg TV gets the profile treatment from NPR’s David Folkenflik. The article, which features unusual on-the-record interviews from David Rhodes and Norman Pearlstine, focuses on how the network is trying to differentiate itself from its louder competition on CNBC and Fox Business Network.
“It’s tempting to join the food fight that sometimes passes for business news — who can scream loudest, and so forth,” says Norman Pearlstine, Bloomberg News’ chief content officer.
“We think there’s an audience that is willing and able to be more reflective, and I think our television tries to speak to it,” he says.
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Instead of gimmickry or partisan programming, the plan is to become a reliable source of breaking business news on television:
“Cable news punches above its weight when it comes to its influence,” says Rhodes, the former vice president for news at the Fox News Channel. “It would be hard not to conclude that from looking at the impact of cable news on media today.”
He argues the only way to build an audience is to convince viewers of a consistency in the quality of the channel’s programs, especially in its reporting.
“What I’m hoping we can do is honestly breaking news in the space that we cover on television,” Rhodes says. “And I think if we can do that reliably to where an audience becomes convinced that that’s going to be there — that’s a huge accomplishment.”
And of course the long-rumored partnership with ABC News, which sprung up again last week, also comes up, although there is nothing new there.