Sep 09 2009
Imus to Join Fox Business Network
I was reminded about two things I already knew recently. One is that President Obama is a gifted orator. His speech tonight to a joint session of Congress was rousing. Support for health care reform will probably rise a couple of points in polls this weekend.
That said, the speech makes no real difference. The lines have been drawn. It’s hard to believe people who would have rather watched Crash Course, Gary Unmarried or a America’s Got Talent recap during primetime will be swayed by one more address. I’ll wait to see what action is taken by Congress before getting excited.
The second thing is money means power. Don Imus’s radio show again has a television syndication partner. There is one thing in common between MSNBC, Imus’s last TV home, and Fox Business, his new landing place as of Oct. 5. Both networks are in third place within their niches.
At least, MSNBC has improved with Joe Scarborough leading Morning Joe. The 24-hour news channel has found a fanbase among liberal Americans. Fox Business is still searching for traction. CNBC and Bloomberg News have cornered the market on the Wall Street crowd. CNNfn failed to draw a Main Street audience and folded.
FBN hopes to succeed where CNNfn failed. After more than a year of low ratings, drastic steps are needed. Cue Imus, late of the poorly-considered comments about the Rutgers women’s basketball program that laid him low for three years. I still find it amazing that, after a 30-year career of trashing anyone and everyone, “nappy-headed hoes” is what got him fired.
It’s not so amazing that Imus is back on the air. He makes money for advertisers and employers. FBN is clearly hoping that people who have never watched their network will watch Imus and sample other programming. FBN is also clearly saying that CNBC’s morning show, Squawk Box, continues to crush its morning programs, Fox Business Morning and Money for Breakfast.
The former show will be trimmed to one hour on-air, with the rest online. The latter will be canceled Oct. 2. Money for Breakfast’s host, Alexis Glick, is a network vice president and was considered a rising star when the network launched in 2007. She’ll still do a one-hour show post-Imus but her star has dimmed.
Given the recession, all business-news channels are losing viewers. Sure, the majority of Americans are involved in the stock market. Mostly though mutual funds and pension funds. That doesn’t mean most people want to pay much attention to the daily business cycle. Especially when the cycle is so depressing.
