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CNBC star Maria Bartiromo and I share a birthday, and I love a good scandal, so I follow her religiously. Maria is fun because she's both gorgeous and cute, smart and sexy. And then there's the strange case of Todd Thomson (the Citigroup exec who fell so in love with Maria that he flagrantly violated ethics, and common sense, just to spend time with her). She's also fun because her nickname is "Money Honey," and what's more: she's applied for a trademark for the phrase! Delicious.Well, she might have to move fast to use the phrase before she loses the IP to a new generation of money honeys (money honeyettes?). News Corp. (NYSE: NWS)'s Fox Business News has a bevy of beauties dishing up the news on the stock market and the economy: Liz Claman, Dagen McDowell, Jenna Lee, Alexis Glick. Ben Stein wants to know, where did they all come from? His analysis, that finance is both boring and inscrutable, and that men would rather get this boring, inscrutable and (largely) completely irrelevant news from beautiful women, is certainly sensible.
But there's an undercurrent in his story that has me troubled, and though I think that he's right in many aspects of his analysis (it's certainly true that more men watch financial news than women), I'm peeved that he never wonders whether the financial world has just been extremely sexist and is only just now starting to let loose. I also find it odd that he doesn't wonder if there were financially savvy women being excluded from business journalism until now. (His "where did they all come from" question makes it seem as if they sprung from the head of Lou Dobbs like Athena.)
Whither Money Honeys? Here's my thought:
Gorgeous, smart women are attracted to finance (that explains why I like it so much! Right?). The women who know they're smart, know they're gorgeous, are far more likely to end up on TV then smart, gorgeous men: loop back to the sexism thing once more and realize that the people who are making the casting decisions are men. Better to hire eye candy than competition.
I'm firmly in the heterosexual female camp, I watch financial news, and to be honest: I prefer a woman anchor. The women I like to watch tend to be less bombastic, more reasonable, more even-keeled than many of the more famous stock analyzing menfolk. If Money Honeys are the next wave? I'm all for it.John Stewart covered this very topic on The Daily Show in January:
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-26-2008 @ 8:29PM
John said...
Well, they're all smarter than the men with hair.
3-26-2008 @ 11:55PM
DayTraderRockStar said...
Funny i did a whole site on CNBC Money Honeys, With an online poll of who's the hottest, with great pictures
http://www.girlsofcnbc.blogspot.com
3-26-2008 @ 11:48PM
David Hepworth said...
Margaret Brennan is coincidently great looking and has an amazing CV. I doubt any man on CNBC, including the President, could match this resume. I think it's the old story: the woman has to be better qualified and great looking!
MARGARET BRENNAN
Before joining CNBC, Brennan interned at CNN's International Newsdesk in 2001 where she coordinated field reporters and translated Arabic language tapes from Osama bin Laden.
Margaret graduated with highest distinction from the University of Virginia. She received a B.A. in Foreign Affairs and was named an Emmerich-Wright scholar for an outstanding thesis. Brennan also received a B.A. in Middle East Studies with a minor in Arabic language. As a Fulbright-Hayes Scholar, Brennan studied Arabic at Yarmouk University in Irbid, Jordan.
She was awarded a 2007 George Mitchell Fellowship and made a Whitehead Fellow with the Foreign Policy Association. In 2003, she was named one of the top journalists under the age of 30 by the NewsBios/TJFR Group.
3-31-2008 @ 1:55PM
DaveF said...
The notion that what is put out by FOX is financial news is absurd. No matter how beautiful the women it still has a right wing political slant. You insult your readers by mentioning the two in the same blog.
3-31-2008 @ 5:08PM
B. Harrison said...
"Right-wing", "left-wing" . . . why not just call it conservative, modrate, or liberal perspectives? People are so quick to bash anything that doesn't match their opinion.
Our Republican Majority Congress didn't do much; and now I don's see the Democratic majority doing much either. We now see where "following the party line can leads to". Investors have to figure it out on their own . . . lots of investment houses are biting the dust. JP Morgan Chase was one of the few with the character to handle their business properly. The FREE MARKET ECONOMY will wean out the rest of the irresponsible companies. It's up to investors to chose wisely.
3-31-2008 @ 5:32PM
Makendoo said...
Bottom Line - Sex sells no matter what the venue.
3-31-2008 @ 6:12PM
VIC POWERS said...
one question... could maria bartiromo get any MORE restalin into those big ass lips? they look like they're going to POP!!! when she talks it's like listening to sylvester the cat...slufferin' sluccotash!!
3-31-2008 @ 8:44PM
Ed said...
Who watches CNBC?
3-31-2008 @ 10:35PM
Don said...
I'm in love with Mary Thompson..