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Tag: “erin burnett”

CNBC Fail: Anchors compare Iran elections to Employee Free Choice Act

By Michael Whitney on June 16, 2009 1:18 PM

CNBC isn't exactly a shining example of responsible journalism. The financial news network has been ridiculed for enabling the financial crisis with flawed reporting and fawning coverage of failed CEOs.

Well, CNBC is at it again. Yesterday, CNBC's Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett made a ridiculous, irresponsible statement. Cramer and Burnett compared the aftermath of Iran's recent election to what would happen under the Employee Free Choice Act.

Huh?

This is the height of irresponsible journalism. Jim Cramer and Erin Burnett need to hear from you now about their reckless reporting.

Click here to send an email directly to Cramer and Burnett. They need to get the message that this kind of coverage is unacceptable.

Here's what Burnett and Cramer said yesterday while discussing the Iran election:

BURNETT: And it wasn't a secret ballot. I think that's important. They're going to know - they know everybody and how they voted. CRAMER: Absolutely. BURNETT: It makes a strong point for this whole union conversation we're having in this country. CRAMER: The card check, the card check.

Let's get our facts straight.

Despite Erin Burnett's delusions otherwise, the Employee Free Choice Act does not take away the secret ballot. To suggest otherwise is just plain wrong.

But to extend that delusion to the Iran election is more than inaccurate. It's irresponsible. It has no place in our national dialogue, and CNBC needs to know that.

Let Erin Burnett and Jim Cramer know what you think. Click here to send them an email now.

Burnett and Cramer need to know that today's union elections are undemocratic. They bear no resemblance to democratically-held elections that we would all recognize in a free country.

The Employee Free Choice Act is an important piece of legislation that reforms the rigged system that prevents employees from having a free choice to improve their lives. The aftermath of the Iran election is proof of what happens when voters don't have a free choice, when the deck is stacked against the electorate.

For some reason, CNBC doesn't understand the difference. Make sure they do.

Thanks for writing to CNBC - with your help, we'll make sure they get the message.

Tags: cnbc, employee free choice act, erin burnett, jim cramer, secret ballots

Sometimes 'Sorry' just isn't enough: Fix CNBC Now!

By Kate Thomas on March 18, 2009 2:09 PM

"You knew what the banks were doing, and yet were touting it for months and months. The entire network was." -- Jon Stewart

In an interview last week with CNBC's Jim Cramer, The Daily Show's Jon Stewart cut through the bull and did what few others in the traditional media were willing to do: expose CNBC's strategy of climbing in bed with the CEOs who created this financial crisis, instead of asking tough questions and reporting the truth.



Cramer is not the broadcast news station's only offender by far: reporter Erin Burnett is a repeat offender of relentlessly spouting Wall Street talking points on Meet the Press. Adam Green describes NBC's "Erin Burnett Problem" at the Huffington Post, giving this recent example of her 'reporting' from last week:

This morning, on Morning Joe, for no apparent reason, [Erin] blurted out, "I'm going to throw this out there, it's just a question..." and then went on a long rant about "the whole question about unemployment benefits themselves." As in, should they even exist?

After all, she pointed out, they don't have them in China (the epitome of a pro-worker country). She asked, "Does that encourage people in places like China to go get jobs more quickly rather than waiting to exhaust their unemployment benefits?"

You can't even make this kind of stuff up.

Responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable has been sorely lacking from this once-credible broadcast news giant, who in recent months has seemed to be doing PR for Wall Street--instead of investigating and debunking lies to report the behind-the-scenes facts the public needs to know.

From the "Fix CNBC" website:

You've been so obsessed with getting "access" to failed CEOs that you willfully passed on misinformation to the public for years, helping to get us into the economic crisis we face today. You screwed up badly.

Don't apologize - fix it!

CNBC should publicly declare that its new overriding mission will be responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable. As a down payment, we ask you to hire some new economic voices - people who have a track record of being right about the economic crisis and holding Wall Street executives' feet to the fire.

The momentum to pressure CNBC to hold Wall Street accountable has been building at a rapid rate. Since launching yesterday at 12:15 p.m., the open letter at www.FixCNBC.com has gathered over 17,000 signatures from leading progressives and economists demanding that the network publicly change its mission to focus more on Wall Street accountability.

Americans need CNBC to do strong, watchdog journalism--don't you agree? Click here to sign the "Fix CNBC" open letter.

Tags: accountability, cnbc, corporate CEOs, economic crisis, erin burnett, fix cnbc, jim cramer, jon stewart, progressives, responsible journalism, www.fixcnbc.com

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Change to Win Federation USA | Canadian Labour Congress
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© SEIU | Privacy Policy