By Steve KrakauerThis week’s BCC Interview is with Maria Bartiromo, host of “Mornings with Maria” on Fox Business and “Sunday Morning Futures” on Fox News. The anchor has had a fascinating career – with the bulk of it at CNBC, and at CNN before.
This week we emailed about Trump and the media, Flynn coverage, Twitter and social media and more. And then, with all BCC Interviews, I published it in full, below. Check out past BCC Interviews with Fox News’ Greg Gutfeld or Ben Smith of the New York Times, and subscribe to Fourth Watch here. See the full interview below…
From: Steve Krakauer
To: Maria Bartiromo
Hey Maria-
Thanks so much for doing this – hope you and the family are staying safe and sane during this crazy time. There’s so much I want to talk to you about, but let’s start with the story everyone is focused on, rightfully so, during this crisis – coronavirus. You were early in reporting this may become a major issue in the U.S. – and actually, you were criticized by some on the left, particularly Salon. What do you think of how the story is being covered today, and what made you bring the story to your audience early on?
Speaking of the coverage in the media at large, you spent the bulk of your career at CNBC/NBC, and before that at CNN. As you look out at your former employers, how do you think they’ve changed since you’ve left – particularly since, say, November 2016? What does it say about our current media landscape?
Thanks, Steve
From: Maria Bartiromo
To: Steve Krakauer
Hi thanks so much. Same to you. Sending you best regards during this frightful moment.
It seems we are getting more accurate information on the scope & severity of the situation but there is still so much politicizing of everything, it is unfortunate. I knew this would be very significant based on my original reporting. When I told bill Hemmer on Fox News in early March that there would be tens of thousands then hundreds of thousands of cases in the US, it was because my sources were very close to the situation. When I told viewers on my show Mornings with Maria, there were ships headed to the USA carrying protective gear but the ships were told to turn around because the China Communist Party had decided they needed all of this equipment and was blowing off contracts, I knew this would open a Pandora’s box of China’s credibility and whether we could trust agreements made.
I have been investigating our relationship with China now for the past three years, especially the IP theft & movement of their military so I had the right sources in place to better understand the CCP’s ultimate goals and how they’ve behaved before, with regard to IP theft and military movement. Congressman Devin Nunes while Chairman of the House Intel Committee was investigating China’s military buildup throughout 2017-2018 and he walked us through much of it during that time.
We have also discussed the reliance on the supply chains in China particularly for prescription drugs for some time. And when I first reported the problems the CDC had with testing kits during my interview with VP Pence, he did not reveal why the CDC sent defective kits to all 50 states although he did acknowledge the issues.
Unfortunately we as a country we did miss a lot of China’s behavior over the last few years because of the intense focus on removing Trump from office and the Russia collusion story which while never true, still dominated the media throughout this time. The political bias and hatred for Donald Trump has colored many peoples judgement unfortunately and there is a cost to that.
The media has become more political & transparent in its opinions. They do not like Trump and they want him out. As a result anything he says is wrong and any wrong doing like we saw at the of the FBI and CIA was ok. Unmasking is fine, wiretapping innocent individuals is fine, leaking classified documents is fine, lying to Congress is fine – because it’s Trump. So the media doesn’t cover any of the wrong doing That’s unfortunate. This should not be about President Trump. Due process is a fundamental part of our freedom and democracy.
From: Steve Krakauer
To: Maria Bartiromo
Hey Maria-
Let me ask you about the hatred of Donald Trump you mention. You recently interviewed President Trump – it was a lengthy, newsmaking interview, and yet some of the media glommed onto one exchange about how he deals with the massive criticism. I’ve tried to wrestle with why there is this outsized fight so many in the media think they are in with Trump, and I keep going back to the fact that he was…essentially one of the media. I mean, there was a long time where you both worked at the same company – NBC Universal – where now CNN president Jeff Zucker helped make him a star with The Apprentice, dozens of media members went to his wedding 15 years ago. Do you think it’s guilt? What is driving the hatred you think? For those on the outside – when you check in with your former colleagues across the media landscape, is it all real (this perceived existential fight) or is there some act to it…this antagonistic relationship is good for ratings, etc?
On another point – you’ve been with Fox now for seven years. What do people who are not regular Fox watchers not get about the network? What would you say are some common misconceptions?
From: Maria Bartiromo
To: Steve Krakauer
I am not sure what’s behind the hatred. I cannot see how that would be good for ratings either. I think viewers want truth. That is what I have been seeking and finding. I think it is shameful that some in the media refuse to acknowledge potentially criminal behavior by a cabal of individuals at the top of the FBI & CIA during the 2016 election John Durham is currently conducting a criminal investigation of the origins of the Russia probe and its wildly animated media coverage throughout 2017-2019. We all should want the rule of law. And the right to not get wiretapped unlawfully as Trump campaign advisor Carter Page was for over a year. I am incredibly proud of my team who had the courage to seek out the truth, in this case, of no collusion early on & report our findings to viewers throughout the media firestorm even in the face of misinformation We are finally seeing the confirmation of what we have been reporting all along. Also there is a cost to politics and ideologues getting in the way of governing. In this this case, many in leadership positions missed the real bubbling up threat to America and that is the US reliance on the Chinese communist party. Instead they were running around heads on fire saying Donald Trump colluded with Russia and setting up an impeachment trial. Now we find ourselves in an economic Cold War, defending our manufacturing of prescription drugs and important health care equipment at the mercy of a bad actor.
I assume he is disliked partly because he came on the scene and upended things that were in place for a long time. He went to Washington ‘guns blazing’, telling people he wanted to “drain the swamp”, they should face accountability for whatever they are doing. He attacked policies in place like trade deals saying they sent jobs overseas. He exposed a lot & some did not want to lose their grip on power.
I’m not sure about the perception of Fox but I can tell you firsthand, that the audience of Fox News & Fox Business are among the most influential in television. Mornings with Maria for example is the #1 highest average income in all of cable. Maria Bartiromo’s Wall Street on Fox Business is the second highest.
Sunday Morning Futures on Fox News is in the top five.
Our audience has money to invest and to spend, is very informed, and independent minded. They do not just go with the herds. They look for verification & facts & they want us to seek out truth.
From: Steve Krakauer
To: Maria Bartiromo
Hey Maria-
When you talk about Trump and elites losing grip on power, it makes me think about Twitter – and the way Trump has successfully broken the media gatekeeper stranglehold on connecting with an audience. Perhaps this was happening before Trump back in 2015 and 2016, but he certainly used it to its full advantage. What do you think of Twitter, and social media, and how it’s changed what you do on the TV side? Has it had a positive or negative effect – and will the clamping down by Twitter on Trump’s account and the executive order from Trump have reverberations within the media world?
Thanks for doing this, and stay safe!
From: Maria Bartiromo
To: Steve Krakauer
Oh I like Twitter & Instagram. I am having a lot of fun posting pictures and news I am gathering on both. But when the liability shield was first introduced in the 1996 telecom law, it was based on the notion that these “platforms” are neutral platforms and just offer an exchange of ideas. So they should have liability protection. Based on what we know now about the “fact checkers” and their comments about President Trump, the content creation on Google and Twitter, and the selective moves such as shadow banning on conservatives versus liberals, we now understand these are not neutral platforms, so I think what President Trump did was right. There is no reason they should get shielded while the rest of the media does not.