Concerned investors start on-line petition to restore journalistic integrity at CNBC

Feb. 3, 2009 - PRLog -- Investors have grown increasingly upset with some of the bias and undisclosed affiliations of some of the analysts and reporters at CNBC Television.

Now, a group of concerned investors has started an on-line petition which will be sent to NBC Universal and General Electric (the parent companies of CNBC) as well as to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Below is the text of the petition, which can be found at the heavily trafficked petitionspot.com:

CNBC is the self proclaimed leader in business news, yet the recent on-air behavior of their On-Air Editor, Charles Gasparino- who also appears as a daily member of CNBC's ensemble- has caused great damage, fear and panic in the markets.

Gasparino, in his role as on-air Editor, is supposed to provide news reports based on fact and tangible evidence, and while he has covered some of the biggest stories affecting the financial markets in recent months, his most recent fumbles and biased opinions about the banking industry, and in particular his completely mistaken and off the mark misrepresentations about the Obama administrations efforts to save the banking industry in the United States have crossed the lines and blatantly breached journalistic integrity.

As the most recent example, we would like to cite what he reported about the government's intentions to ease the banking crisis. Mr. Gasparino reported that members of the Obama administration were "more confused now than ever before" in regards to their efforts to add an aggregator bank. He also reported that such efforts to solve the banking crisis were "in limbo"- yet multiple White House officials and news agencies like the Associated Press and Reuters have since reported that all efforts are "on track" and will likely be announced shortly.

Gasparino's increasing use of anonymous "sources" (who, if they even exist, have obviously led him astray) and his ego-driven, free reign without any apparent editorial supervision have caused panic and fear in investors. His rants have spurred sell-offs at perhaps the worst possible time, given the fact that the markets themselves are teetering on the edges of a very dangerous cliff. For that, he must be reigned in and held accountable.

Mr. Gasparino, who is also a columnist and a freelance writer for other publications, has been challenged on several occasions by other CNBC contributors and staff on the air. More than once, co workers have questioned the legitimacy and accuracy of his reports, but he is always quick to rebut and dismiss anyone who disagrees with him or questions his reports' integrity- often times refusing to attribute his facts to anyone but "my sources."

His cynical, disparaging, insinuating, malicious, sarcastic, and snide responses- not to mention his sneering- appear completely unprofessional and ego-driven; and yet he insists on becoming the story instead of reporting it. He and CNBC continue to betray the trust of their viewers and often cause great harm to the companies, entities and financial markets they cover.

Viewers of CNBC business news programming are investors, business executives, financial professionals and others who depend on the delivery of untainted, un-biased news and information to make significant decisions that affect not only their own portfolios, but also entire markets.

These recent episodes illustrate serious disregard their jobs as journalists and editors and it is time that CNBC reverse course.


Those of you interested in signing the petition or sharing your own thoughts with the group who started it can find it and the full text at: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/cnbcintegrity

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Investors for Media Integrity was established to help hold media outlets accountable for the accuracy in their reporting.