Media World: The most overexposed people in business media
Posted by: in Marketing and AdvertisingFiled under: General Electric (GE), Marketing and advertising, Media World
Ever wonder why conventional wisdom is so conventional? It’s because it’s the same people repeating it over and over.
The reason why this happens is mostly laziness. Reporters and TV producers call on the same people to render their views because they’re the ones who return calls and show up when they’re needed. I have done it myself so I know the drill well. Yes, Woody Allen’s claim that 80% of success is showing up continues to be proven right. These people can be summed up in several categories: wisemen — they almost always are male — whose each utterance is treated as if it was etched in stone tablets by the almighty, and insta-pundits — who are able to give quotes on each topic imaginable. Finally, there are the personal finance gurus whose message is that by helping me make money, I can help you save money.
Below are my choices for the most overexposed business pundits and media personalities. They’re in no particular order.
Wisemen: Alan Greenspan — Don’t you miss the days when no one understood what the former Fed Chairman was talking about? Now, his message is pretty clear: buy my book and the subprime mortgage crisis was not my fault. Honorable mentions: former General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) Chief Executive Jack Welch, billionaire George Soros, and oilman Boone Pickens.
Insta-pundits (analysts): A tech story does not seem complete without a word from Darren Chervitz of the Jacob Internet Fund. Ditto for Fadel Gheit of Oppenheimer & Co. On oil and media stocks, pundit Rich Greenfield of Pali Research. Honorable mention: Too numerous to list.
Insta-pundits (academics) : Leadership expert Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Yale University recently urged failed CEOs to not dwell on their disappointments. “People who fail should feel liberated,” he told Fortune. ÈThey’ve already failed. Their self-esteem should also be helped by their fat pay checks.È Honorable mention: The University of Delaware’s corporate governance expert Charles Elson.
Personal Finance Experts: Suze Orman who charges people $13.50 for a “kit” to make sure to “Make sure the Insurance You Have Is The Insurance You Need.” Honorable mention: Robert Kiyosaki – the author of “Rich Father, Poor Dad” urges people that “if you want to be rich you need to learn to think like the rich.” Great, I think I deserve a Porsche and a $200 board game.
Jim Cramer : The host of CNBC’s “Mad Money” deserves his own category. Cramer (whose company TheStreet.com used to employ me and who blogs for this site) always tells the people who slavishly follow his picks to make up their own minds. That’s good advice provided that they are not distracted by the yelling and sound effects. Honorable mention: Warren Buffett — I bet the Oracle of Omaha has grown fatigued of seeing himself on CNBC. The network seems to be running out of ideas of what to ask him.
Did I miss anybody?
I’ve been thinking about free digital downloads for a while now, and with the success such models have seen in the last seven months or so (since Radiohead’s In Rainbows was released), it would seem only natural that the record labels would recognize that value in their product should not be based on money or profits. Automatically I realize that the kind of recommendation I’ve made is detrimental to the music industry and the artists that produce music, even when some of the stated artists are embracing free download business models. Nevertheless, it isn’t surprising in the least to see the music industry fighting tooth and nail to retain some control over the business they rightly think they should control.
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