Louis Rukeyser in talks with CNBC
msnbc.com
Ousted “Wall Street Week” host planning new show
By Jane Weaver
MSNBC
March 25 — Louis Rukeyser, the recently ousted 32-year veteran host of public television’s “Wall Street Week,” is in talks to produce a new show with CNBC, the cable business news channel confirmed Monday. The longtime Wall Street commentator was bumped from “Wall Street Week” last week after criticizing the show’s change of format.
A CNBC SPOKESWOMAN said that the cable network was in discussions with the 69 year-old host, but declined to comment further.
Last week Maryland Public Television, which had produced the high-finance and investment program with Rukeyser for the last 32 years, said it was revamping the show. Rukeyser’s contract with MPT was due to expire in June and his last show was to be broadcast on June 28. But his fate was sealed Friday when he started the 30-minute program by criticizing MPT for the new show’s format.
In response, Robert J. Shuman, MPT’s president and CEO, said Sunday night that “Wall Street Week With Louis Rukeyser” had aired for the last time.
Before the on-air remarks, Rukeyser had been asked to remain as a senior contributor after his contract expired. He declined.
Late on Sunday, Rukeyser told the Associated Press that MPT hadn’t told him he was being dismissed but that he might seek legal action if the station tried to fire him. He said he has complied with his contract and doesn’t regret making the remarks.
The new show will be produced with Fortune magazine and is expected to be called “Wall Street Week with Fortune” when it launches in the fall. Fortune is the biweekly financial magazine owned by AOL Time Warner.
Fortune editorial director Geoffrey Colvin will host the show with an unnamed co-anchor.
On Friday, Rukeyser thanked viewers for their “amazing outpouring of support,” and he added that “another weekly program with me as host and commentator will be on television.”
“I want to assure all our loyal viewers ... that Louis Rukeyser will still be very much around.”
Rukeyser, often called the “rakish raconteur” for his dry wit and stylish dress, told the audience that the “woods are full of smart television executives who are wonderfully excited at the prospect of producing the new Louis Rukeyser program.” He also asked viewers to write to their local public television stations and demand that they air his new show.
Rukeyser said Sunday that he was still considering offers from several public and commercial television outlets and would decide which one to go with in a week or two.
MPT executives had said they wanted to update the show’s format, a change needed for the weekly program to keep up with the fast-paced world of cable financial news programs on CNBC or CNNfn.
“There is nothing inherently wrong with wanting to update a show that’s been so similar after 32 years,” said Robert Thompson, professor of media and pop culture at Syracuse University. “We can’t get too much into the nostalgic thing. WSW was beginning to seem like something being kept there as a museum piece.”
But Thompson added: “There are ways to do it gracefully and [MPT officials] elected to do it in the not graceful way.”
“Wall Street Week’s” audience of nearly 3 million viewers far outpaces its rivals, but the problem is the average age of the people who watch Rukeyser’s show is 62. With the new program, MPT hopes to attract more viewers in the 25-54 age range, a demographic considered more desirable by corporate underwriters.
“One of the challenges for the cable and broadcast networks is that a lot of the younger market is going to the Internet for financial news,” said media economist Jack Myers of The Myers Group. “They have to figure it how to capitalize on that.”
At the moment “Wall Street Week’s” corporate underwriters seem to be taking a wait-and-see position on Rukeyser’s abrupt departure.
“We’re weighing all our options,” said a spokeswoman for A.G. Edwards. She declined to discuss the terms of the relationship with “Wall Street Week.” Maryland Public Television executives have contacted the investment firm about the situation, the spokeswoman confirmed, but she would not discuss details of the conversations.
Another corporate underwriter is Deloitte & Touche, which also provides funding for the “Nightly Business Report” on PBS.
“If there are changes in any medium, we will evaluate them both on our commitment to community service and as a business practice,” said Paul Brennan, spokesman for the management consulting firm.
Karen Haefling, chief marketing officer, of financial services firm KeyCorp, which underwrites “Wall Street Week” in several markets, commented on the show’s “loyal audience.”
“The transition could be successful if they maintain the essence of the show,” she said. “We have no reason to think it won’t continue to be popular.” |
