CNNfn
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While their fellow Americans are just tuning in to "Today" and "Good Morning, America," approximately 150,000 savvy business watchers are already an hour into their morning
programming of choice. CNNfn's "CNNmoney Morning," anchored by veteran Jack Cafferty, starts the day off at 6 a.m. ET with pre-market activity and "the smart take on today's
business news." The show is a combo of financial and general news targeted at smart investors who know the markets or want to learn more about them, says Executive Producer
Margaret Aguirre. Not all viewers are Wall Street insiders, however. "There is some inside baseball that goes on. We assume some general knowledge, but it's very easy to get
caught up in the business-ese of the environment. All of the correspondents and [anchor] Jack are very good at saying, 'Here's what it means. Here's how it will affect your
ability to pay the mortgage, put food on the table, keep a job.'"
Contents /Contacts
Focus on business stories that mean something to the average investor. "We want to say, here's what it will do to interest rates, and always bring it back to [the viewer],"
Aguirre says. Cafferty interviews a variety of correspondents and sources about daily and market news. Aguirre looks for executives from large corporations ("I don't want a little
company that's not publicly traded -- I have to help viewers with their portfolios.") Producers seek economists, portfolio managers and people from the big firms as commentators.
Aguirre is particularly interested in someone "going against the grain and predicting one thing when all the other commentators are predicting another."
Big names will also score, and Aguirre advises PR pros to put the name up front when pitching a source for the show.
Pitch Tips
Send Aguirre a short email with the news up front. "For me, what's not useful is an email that's so long that I can't see what the point is," Aguirre says. "Start with a
headline and do one paragraph of explaining, then attach more information below. If I want more, I'll go to that. I think more PR people need to remember what they'd want to see
if they were [reading the release]. A lot of times, the thing that made it interesting, they buried."
Calls are taboo - "I really don't like to be called. You'll end up getting me in a really cranky mood," she says. Also, contact the head of booking for CNNfn, Andy Breslau, or
Jacob Novak, the producer for "CNNmoney Morning."
[email protected]
Andy Breslau 212/714-7800
[email protected]
In the Pipeline
Aguirre is looking ahead to earnings season and says the effects on earnings of Sept. 11 and the burgeoning war on terrorism will be the major story for the fourth quarter.
"We'll look at how different sectors are affected, how the general economy has been affected, what's happening with consumer confidence and spending. It's hard to know what could
happen next. Everyone's feeling it." Aguirre likes to spotlight companies and trends that surprise her. She explains with an example, "If a high-end stock like Gucci were doing
well in the middle of a bad situation [a recession], that would be a story."
Comments
The personalities behind "money Morning" primarily drive the program's success. "Jack Cafferty is very funny and very smart," Aguirre says. "He knows the economy and the
markets so well, and he takes a unique look at everything. This is edgier than regular [financial] shows." The show also has tremendous Internet presence, according to Aguirre.
Producers integrate the Web site into the show at every opportunity, and viewers are very responsive via email. "I've worked at networks, and they didn't have nearly this response
on a day-to-day basis," Aguirre marvels.