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September 13, 2005

Rating Financial TV personalities, Tues., September 13, 2005, 10:08 AM

Of the programming I watch most frequently, here are my ratings, for what they are worth:

ROBTV: B+" ranging from B-" to A" (excellent reporting, objective analysis; in-depth coverage where required; improving its platform, could become A-)

Bloomberg: B+" (very good but not going to raise itself to A-" with present platform)

PBS: B+" (very good but not going to raise itself to A-" with present platform)

CNBC: C+" ranging from D-" to A-"
· Maria Bartiromo: C+" (has really cut down the cheerleading, and does excellent interviews; likely to become a B" and could become A-)
· Michelle Caruso-Cabrera: C- (used to be a B" at noontime, but has a spinner's edge in the early morning)
· James Cramer: D- (low and sinking fast; has turned out to be farcical)
· David Faber: B+" (would be solid A" if he did more reports like Worldcom, Wal-Mart, eBAY)
· Mark Haines: C+" (but would be a B+" if he took a more worldly view)
· Ron Insana: B- (good but declining; just too many cases of cheerleading lately)
· Joe Kernan: C" (improving; not nearly the cheerleader he used to be)
· Larry Kudlow: C" (would be upgraded to A-" or higher if he had more balance, less spin)
· Steve Leisman: C- (very bright; interesting use of graphics; becoming the new CNBC spinmeister; in danger of failing)
· Bob Pisani: C- (makes more dubious statements than any of these personalities", including JJC)
· Dylan Ratigan: B" (excellent reporter; needs more (not less) exposure; of this bunch, would be my lead anchor if I owned CNBC)
· Rick Santelli: A- (excellent analysis; should be given more exposure)
· Jane Wells: A- (uses humor to make excellent points)
· Others: C- to C" (some of the newer ones like Liz Claman and Becky Quick have really improved, and could become B's"; the others aren't going to change)

Remember, nobody's perfect. We can all try to improve.

Posted by Posted by Bill Cara on September 13, 2005 10:08:36 AM | Category: Yada yada