CNBC acquired the rights to ‘Nightly Business Report’ in late January of this year and with that the formerly South Florida-based business news magazine seen on PBS affiliates across the country is now originating from the CNBC studios in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Since its inception in 1978 and until March 4th, Nightly Business Report was produced and originated from our own PBS affiliate, WPBT in Miami. All but one of the program’s 21 staffers were laid off with severance packages on March 1. The only person CNBC kept is Susie Gharib who is anchoring from the New York Stock Exchange. CNBC paired Gharib with its own Tyler Mathisen. Tom Hudson who took over for Paul Kangas in 2009 and was based in Miami, is among those who were laid off. In addition to Mathisen, CNBC is using its own reporters and content. The program’s website, NBR.com was also changed. From a full fledged news website featuring full episodes, transcripts and market data it is now forwarding to the program’s Facebook page!
Nightly Business Report is the longest running business program. Its debut was way back on January 22, 1978 and is seen each weekday on PBS stations around the country by about 300,000 viewers.
Tom Hudson’s last Nightly Business Report broadcast:
RIP NBR. Paul Kangas, Linda O’Bryon and team did a great job on the original show. It was a regular viewing habit at 7pm in our house. Sad to see it being gutted the last 4 yrs.
This program is truely a shell of its former self. CNBC clearly has tried to fix something
that wasn’t broke. They also screwed up by keeping Susie Gharib. She’s been foundering for
years and to think any value was salvaged by keeping her was a huge mistake. The look, the feel,
all of it; it’s less informative, less revealing and simply represents a half full glass. My heart goes
out to the staff who were layed off; they’ve done a great job for years and really conveyed a REAL
market sense to the american public. I’m done watching NBR; I’ll find something much more
genuine and comprehensive. I can only hope a firm will resurrect the original show and crew
to bring real and genuine stock reporting.
It’s a sad transition, indeed.
I cannot contribute to PBS anymore. If they run for-profit news programs, they shouldn’t have public support as well.
I’m devastated with the direction this program is going, cable style television has no business on public stations. I cannot support PBS for allowing politically biased and blatantly manipulative programming to air, with a name that used to be synonymous with trustworthy economic news. Of the 30 minutes this episode aired, only a few seconds were spent talking about the actual market, the vast majority was fluff topics and interview/stories that had no bearing on economic data. At best this is due to laziness, at worst it’s manipulation. Either way, NBR is irrecoverably lost.
Manipulation is correct … just like Lehrer that dunce still clinging …by-bye PBS l’m so done with them.
Big mistake here and I too won’t be contributing funds to PBS anymore. Tom was a lot more on the ball than either Suzie or the new guy, Tyler. Plus all the great reporters who’ve been let go only to be replaced by non-entities. Doubt this format will last very long. Bad decision-making all around by airheads including dear old Warren Buffet for agreeing to appear on the first new show
Tyler reminds me of that news anchor from the Mary Tyler Moore show and that was a sitcom.
I agree with Jason and the other comments and I sure don’t know why they kept Susie Gharib.
‘Bad news..more glitz and show “a la CNBC”…I have enough of that…I depended on NBR for just the news…no more of the same BS…such as ridiculous anchor comments and related…this is a blur on Public Television…what’s next, “All Things Considered” will be “bought-up” by Bloomberg Radio? Public TV and Radio has (had?) it right..this is why the private producers want to acquire these popular productions…(will “organic” stay really organic?)….
I only started watching the show regularly about a year ago, so I apparently missed the old glory days and I don’t know how good it used to be. But I really enjoyed Tom and Suzy together.
I was ready to give the new CNBC format a chance, but over this last week I see it moving in a political direction – a long segment with former presidential Democrat candidate Howard “Yeee-aaaugh!!” Dean, and New York Times liberal columnist Paul Krugman, who they identified simply as an “economist”.
Guess I’ll have to start looking around for a different investment show to DVR.
The very first “new” NBR interview, some guy from Ameritrade? and his words were “We want people to come to us . . . to trust us” Unbelieveable brazen advertsising for CNBC’s number one advertiser? No economic news what so ever. Total stench. Paul Kangus should start a new show with the “real’ reporters. Suzy looks like she can barely stand the smell.
Do not contribute to PBS until NBR is off the air.
I stopped watching cnbc because the constant bad mouthing. Now NPR. I will not watch a partisan financial news broadcast. Shame on NPR
NBR wasn’t perfect but CNBC has accomplished an amazing feat, nurtured the illness while killing the patient. The show is now definitely terminal.
1. The new male co-host; is he on minimum wage; the boss’s son, a holdover from the days of cigarette smoking, typewriter clacking, hard-drinking journalist or is this job a result of calling favors.
2. What I love is the uptick in the capacity to unravel stories that attempt to create perspective into a jumbled assortment of meaningless and unrelated facts thrown at the viewer at supersonic speed. Thrilling.
3. Whose was the jerk who authorized the sale; who was the jerk who authorized the purchase–they could be working together to create the next killer App–NOT!
Was a viewer all the way back to Paul Kangas and Cassie Siefert (mid 80’s). I echo the feelings of others that have commented : Something dignified and elegant, will be turned into more garish commercial media junk.
What’s next for NBR ? Saul Steinberg’s daughter in law, grilling CEOs about their company’s poor performance (see Reliance Group Holdings and that faker hat check girl, bartriromo) ?
I wasn’t aware of the behind the scene changes, but now that explains why Susie G appeared so afraid on camera….
That leaves Consuela Mack Friday nights…..done with NBR now that Ted Knight is anchoring.
The original show was about stocks: the 10 most active, stocks that moved several points up or down and WHY the move, new and promising companies that might make people money. Bring back the old days and talk about stocks.
So, we have CBBC on PBS. Oh joy! PBS has allowed the half hour to go from human to humanoid. Great work, PBS! I was a devoted NBR viewer. Yes, I watch CNBC now and then. From here on, the same will apply to NBR. I’ll tune it in occasionally.
Used to watch the show nearly every night before KCET in L.A. opted out of PBS and it bounced around L A & Orange County area PBS stations at different times. Past 2 years I caught it on occasion then not at all until this afternoon. Used to be great with Paul Kangas, Darren Gersh, Scott Gurvey, Diane Estabrook and my favorite, Suzanne Pratt–a real doll. Didn’t know CNBC took over and canned Tom Hudson–a good replacement for Paul– et al–including Suzanne. One view was enough and I totally concur with previous comments–it is gosh awful. You could call the CNBC takeover as “the worst of bad buys”. Once was enough. So be it.
What a SHAME! This is a complete insult to our intellegence and the founders of the original contents… A note to PBS, don’t bite the hands that feeds you!
Everything said is true. Why does this program insist on interviewing Bill Gross, who quit Pimco in a huff when the board asked the simple question of how he had screwed up mightedly. And Mohamed El-Erian, Gross’ s 2nd in command until he was fired, sticks his toothy grin on this program all too often. He also has proven he knows less about the stock market than my house cat. I can throw darts and pick better stock analysis and market movement than these 2 bozos
How can a private company working purely for profit enjoy the fruits of a public broadcasting entity ?? This should be against federal law. But, the people breaking the law will not be prosecuted by the people controlling the court…. Same interconnected “family”. This is a sad crime assaulting the intelligence of good God fearing Americans. Self serving biased content is on the menu. I know, I’m a 25 year retired veteran of that same cesspool !! Stop your contributions immediately, put the reason why in the contribution envelope, and mail it. That WILL work to send our message. Be brief ” you cannot sell public TV, if you do, I cannot support you any longer ” …Done