Apparently, the right-wing tone of CNBC -- which has provided a platform towards tea protesters and tips on Obama-proofing your portfolio -- isn't going over well at NBC corporate.
Top talent and execs at the network were ordered to a three-hour meeting, organized by Jeff Zucker, to discuss the issue, reports Page Six.
"It was an intensive, three-hour dinner at 30 Rock which Zucker himself was behind," a source familiar with the powwow told us. "There was a long discussion about whether CNBC has become too conservative and is beating up on Obama too much. There's great concern that CNBC is now the anti-Obama network. The whole meeting was really kind of creepy."
One topic under the microscope, our insider said, was on-air CNBC editor Rick Santelli's rant two months ago about staging a "Chicago Tea Party" to protest the president's bailout programs -- an idea that spawned tax protest tea parties in other big cities, infuriating the White House. Oddly, Santelli was not at the meeting, while Jim Cramer was, noted our source, who added that no edict was ultimately handed down by the network chieftains.
For its part, the network denied that the meeting had anything to do with the political tone of the network.
We could see the politics of CNBC alienating some viewers, but from our perspective it seems to provide a nice counterweight to its sister network MSNBC, which has basically become Air America on TV. But at least at this point, with Obama still riding very high, and big business running very low that's probably just the right stance to take.
According to Page Six, no official policy was handed down at the meeting.
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