The Associated Press reports that News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) Fox News Network plans to launch Fox Business Network (FBN) to compete with General Electric's (NYSE: GE) NBC Universal's CNBC on October 15. Will the two really compete? CNBC targets upscale investors while FBN says it's targeting Main Street.

One interesting detail in this article is that Dow Jones & Company's (NYSE: DJ) arrangement with CNBC -- giving it exclusive access to the Wall Street Journal until 2012 -- only covers business-related news. This allows FBN to use Journal coverage of other areas such as Washington and lifestyle topics.

I think CNBC will feel threatened by FBN and continue to respond by offering conservative-leaning and big-business-boosterish coverage. Meanwhile FBN will use its well-practiced brand of Amen Chorus stories that both demonize the enemy -- in this case CNBC -- while appearing to support the voiceless, powerless little guy. If I ran CNBC, I would focus primarily on giving my core audience more of what it wants and not try to imitate FBN through patriotic-sounding stories.

Advertisers will pay a premium to access CNBC's upscale viewers and GE cannot afford to lose those dollars.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates,. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He owns GE stock, has consulted to News Corp.'s CEO, has appeared as a guest on CNBC and Forbes on Fox, and has no financial interest in Dow Jones.

Fox Business Network faces off against CNBC originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Sep 2007 14:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Money Face-Offs feature. Let us know who you think comes out ahead in this head-to-head match-up, and check out our other Money Face-Off posts.

Who needs to worry about the subprime mortgage meltdown or the Iraq War when we can debate whether CNBC's Maria Bartiromo still is the "Money Honey" or if her crown has been taken by upstart Erin "Street Sweetie" Burnett.

Bartiromo's image has been tarnished by the Todd Thomson fiasco, the trademarking of "Money Honey," and her countless appearances at corporate events, while Burnett's star is on the rise thanks in part to hugely flattering articles by the likes of Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post. He recently wrote of Burnett, "Under the lights, in a smoky blue dress that matches her eyes as well as her shoes, her flowing dark hair perfectly teased, she is not exactly hard on the eyes." No word on whether he feels the same way about Mark Haines.

Yes, television is a superficial medium. Yes, discussions of the attractiveness of Bartiromo and Burnett are sexist, to say the least. I personally couldn't care less whether the anchors are best of friends or are constantly trying to stab each other in the back, as has been reported by the tabloids.

Continue reading Money Face-Off: Maria Bartiromo versus Erin Burnett

Money Face-Off: Maria Bartiromo versus Erin Burnett originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 15 Sep 2007 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.