It's really almost impossible to fix the mess that is financial TV because the on-air blowhards slavishly believe in unlimited power and money for corporations, and they hold average American families as a means to an end. But Barry Ritholtz has some ideas -- some of them we've written about before.

Barry Ritholtz list sixteen steps:

Over the past 5 years, I have appeared on various Financial TV shows over a 100 times. But I am also a huge consumer of financial news, in print, on the web, radio, and of course, TV. Being on both sides of the camera gives me a fairly good perspective on what does and doesn’t work on TV. I also have some strong ideas as to what is good and bad TV in terms of providing a social utility, being part of the democratic process, etc.

Indeed, this is a longstanding interest of mine. Over the weekend, I referenced the current Columbia Journalism Review (CJR) issue that focused on the role of the media in the credit crisis, stock market and economic collapse (CJR on CNBC, WSJ & Business Press). This area has long interested me (hence, our media panel at TBP conference). But I was surprised this post generated 100 comments from readers.

One emailer challenged me on CJR’s CNBC piece: “Its easy to complain, but what would you do to “fix” Financial Television?”

Challenge accepted. Here are my general suggestions as to how to “fix” what needs repair on not just CNBC, but all FinTV.

How to Fix Financial Television...Read on

He's got some really good ideas. I already proposed a Punditocracy Ombudsman to clean up the talking heads that constantly give us false information and then are welcomed back on the set as if they are geniuses.

C&L's Accountability for the Punditocracy Proposal

Continue reading »

From the White House blog:

With the process of going through the budget line by line in full swing, the President uses his Weekly Address to give some examples, big and small, of how the Administration is working to cut costs and eliminate waste. The President also announces two new key appointments, Jeffrey Zients as Chief Performance Officer and Aneesh Chopra as Chief Technology Officer, who will be invaluable in streamlining the way government functions through efficiency and innovation.

Full transcript below the fold.

Continue reading »

From PBS:

In this sneak peek from "Inside the Meltdown," FRONTLINE revisits a pivotal moment in the fall of Bear Stearns: CEO Alan Schwartz appears on CNBC to address Wall Street rumors that the investment bank is in trouble.

In "Inside the Meltdown," airing Tuesday, February 17 at 9 pm on PBS, FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the worst economic crisis in 70 years and how the government responded. The film chronicles the inside stories of the Bear Stearns deal, Lehman Brothers' collapse, the propping up of insurance giant AIG, and the $700 billion bailout. Inside the Meltdown examines what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't see, couldn't stop and haven't been able to fix.

If you missed the show tonight it can be watched in its entirety on line on Frontline's web site.