In the News: NBC becomes TSN

What if you woke up to the following headline: "NBC Becomes the Today Show Network?" Read more of this intriguing, if not authentic, story:

It's official, the National Broadcasting Network is becoming the Today Show Network. According to a spokesperson, the company's name is reflecting the realities of the network. On every evening after midnight NBC's airwaves are dominated by infomercials. At 7, the Today Show kicks in and continues to around lunch time. It is only a question of when, not if, the Today Show takes over the rest of the network...

It sounds silly now, but until a few years ago the Today Show was only two hours long. Slowly, it played around with a concept called "Later Today," but that was quickly shelved in favor of maintaining the continuity of the popular early program. Earlier this year they decided to extend the show to 11 AM starting in September. September is here and, true to their word, we have four hours of programming.

The Today Show works so well for NBC for several reasons:

* Personalities. Among the friendliest on TV and certainly with the best chemistry.

* Technical quality. NBC treats their morning show like a real program. They recognize that it provides a ratings bonanza and they honor such by making it very attractive, visually.

* Most important, it is a very high end infomercial to support the vast product line of its parent company, GE. Today belongs to NBC, which belongs to GE and its companies include iVillage, appliances, entertainment, financial services, aviation, etc., etc., etc. Virtually every hour has something from the vast GE empire and you will hear their disclaimer. Because of the shear promotion of product, Today can't help but make money.

Fortunately for NBC, the show has high ratings as well and is an excellent example of taking marketing to new and very creative heights.

Note: Order Kevin Price's audio program The Accumulators, which explains the impact that the Internet is having on marketing and consumer behavior. It is available online here for only $10 plus p and h. Receive the Houston Business Review e-zine free each week by clicking here.

On the Today Show, Does More Mean Less?

For quite some time Matt Lauer and the rest of the Today Show team have discussed how the show is taking over much of NBC's broadcast day. In fact, some were beginning to call it the "All Day Show", beginning at 7 and ending at 11 AM. However, recent broadcasts are having me wonder if the Today Show is beginning to look like the "Recycling Show."

I say that, not because the show is only about environmental issues (it isn't), but because they show the same material over and over again. You get the impression that each hour is different, because they have several different hosts through out the day. Ann Curry is one of the few constants through out the show. But these hosts are reintroducing much of the same content through out the broadcast.

On today's program, Matt Lauer interviewed two families that were involved in a terrible car accident and the hospitals confused the child that lived with one of the children that died. A fascinating and heart wrenching story indeed. It was one of the longest interviews of the show (two or three segments) and they played it at least twice.

This is happening on Today for several reasons. It cost a great deal of time and money to put together programming such as this. It makes sense to extend the day because the show is the highest rated in the morning. There is a theory (and a sensible one, at that), that the viewers change often between 7-11. I'm sure it is true, since most people have a life beyond TV. However, the sheer volume of reused content might be chasing the viewers away.

Back when the show ended at 10 AM, there was very little reused content. In fact, I would argue that the show had more original content back in those good old days. Because of this, those rare days that allowed me to stay from beginning to end, I typically stayed. Now, I often leave around nine because of my concern of reruns. I don't think the network intended for this when they expanded their broadcast day.

For a copy of the free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

The Amazing Infomercial Called the Today Show

Most weekdays I wake up around 6:30 and watch Fox & Friends. But this is only until 7, when NBC's Today Show begins. The Today Show is the "Grand Poobah" of morning talk programs, having the best ratings than any other show of its kind. It has beautiful people, attractive sets, and lively discussions. In spite of all this, it has become little more than the most expensive infomercial on TV today. On a typical show you will hear disclaimers to the affect:

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and GE Finance"

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and Universal Pictures"

* "GE is the parent company of NBC and Universal Theme Park"

* "GE owns everything and such disclaimers are now silly"

Okay, the last point is an exaggeration, but I think you get the picture. GE is a monster. A conglomerate that is in everything from health care to washing machines, and they are promoted often (2-3 times an hour) in every program. iVillage alone is played at least once every hour of every show, it seems. How does NBC get to cover every Olympic game? They, too, are in relationship with GE. The Today Show is done very tastefully, but it is largely an infomercial, none the less.

The Today Show has very high ratings and I watch it myself. My observations are not critical, but almost in awe of this very sophisticated, product promoting, machine.

What I Learned About Morning Television at the YMCA

I make an effort to go to the YMCA 3 or 4 times a week about ten weeks a year. Seriously, I go fairly often, but rarely in the morning. It is usually between 9 and 10 PM when my younger kids are in bed and the older ones are available to watch them. When I do go during the day it is usually after 9 or 10 AM because I have a hard time getting going earlier and I hate the pre-work crowd. This morning I found myself dressed for the gym at around 7:15 after dropping off my kids at school and a very busy day in front of me, so I decided to go ahead and get the Y behind me or I wouldn't likely be able to go at all.

These days I am focusing on the treadmills and as soon as I walked in I noticed that the long line of treadmills had many more bodies running, walking, and fainting on one side of the room over the other. I kind of felt left out, all that was left for me was the five empty treadmills at the end. I reminded myself that I should be happy I could get in at all and went straight to work. When I looked up at the TV screens I noticed that the channel nearest me was CBS (The Early Show), the channel after that was ABC (Good Morning America), CNN was next, and then finally, where the huge crowd was I found NBC. The ratings companies have said that the Today Show dominates the mornings, I began to think I had evidence of this on a very personal level. Almost everyone, even the poor soul next to me who looked like she was going to need to see a chiropractor from straining to watch NBC, was focused on Today.

I used my time to see what CBS and ABC had to offer. The first thing I noticed is that these shows are now virtual clones of Today. They have somewhat similar personalities, Harry Smith (photo above) from CBS seems to now be using Matt Lauer of Today's tailor. When the Today Show is outside with the crowd, so is CBS and ABC. When the Today Show team is on the couch, so are the the personalities at ABC and CBS. If I were one of the personalities on ABC or CBS, I would take it very personally. The only difference is that CBS puts a much stronger emphasis on local news than the others, other than that it looks like "NBC and the Wannabes."

Something I noted that was interesting is that Good Morning America is trying to incorporate Web 2.0 ideas into the show itself. They showed a video of some kid riding a skateboard inches from a police officer on a handrail. That police officer pushed the kid in the bushes near by because it wasn't safe for either one of them. The question, posed on the Web of course, was whether the response was appropriate. The hosts asked a guest to weigh in and they wanted the response of the audience to his comments. It was an interesting way to encourage audience interaction and it appears to be one that is used fairly often. It isn't, however, enough to make me stop watching Today.

I have said before, I don't really understand the attraction. I use to be a strong Good Morning America fan for years. Until I figure it out why I like Today, I'm going to either have to get to the Y early or make sure I go after the Today Show is over. With the continued expansion of the show through out the day starting in September, I might develop a huge weight problem.

Criticism of Today Show and Richard Cohen's Book

Media Bistro has pointed out that the Poynter Institute has come out swinging against the way the popular Today Show did a series on people fighting chronic illness. The problem? The book was by Richard Cohen who is also the husband of Meredith Viera, co-host of Today. That's the source of the controversy. Here's what Media Bistro Reported:

With the conclusion of Today's three-part segment on chronic illness, the AP's David Bauder reports that a Poynter Institute expert is questioning the ethics of the series, inspired by a new book by Richard Cohen, Meredith Vieira's husband.

Cohen, who has Multiple Sclerosis, has written Strong at the Broken Places, about people living with illness. Vieira, who stated on-air that Cohen is her husband, interviewed him Wednesday in-studio, along with some of the book's subjects.

The Poynter Institute's Bob Steele tells Bauer that Today could have given the story to Matt Lauer or Ann Curry. Bauer writes that "there's also the issue of providing Cohen with three days of publicity on the top-rated morning news show..."

Today Executive Producer Jim Bell tells Bauer, "In a way I think it would have drawn more attention to it if (Vieira) did not do (the story)."

Bell also says Cohen's book addresses important subject matter, of interest to viewers. "If the guy was writing a book on a topic we didn't care about, or if he wasn't an accomplished author or if it wasn't getting attention at other places, I think it would be an issue. But I don't think that was the case here."

I think this is ridiculous. The story was about people who courageously live with chronic illness. That is something Meredith Vieria does daily. She's a very solid interviewer and all the better because, in this case, she was also a very empathetic one. Instead of criticizing the fine work done by the Today Show in this case, we should be commending them by providing a quality story on an important subject rather than bringing us another Lindsay Lohan disaster headline.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

The "Today Show" Prepares to Become the "All Day Show"

We were recently informed that NBC's popular Today Show was about to add a fourth hour and, if it keeps it up, make take the rest of the day time programming (that is wild speculation on my part). The show consistently (as in years) remains the most popular each and every quarter, and since its parent company (GE see photo) has interests in virtually every type of business, the show is actually a very elaborate infomercial (an idea I discussed in the past), why wouldn't it move to all day? Millions sitting there being sold the latest product or service from the mind of GE, how can they not love such?

But they are getting prepared for the next hour by doing something I have never noticed as a regular Today watcher -- they are replaying stories later in the program from earlier in the show. They are recycling content. They may have done such before, but it flew past me. I guess they figure that, if we are willing to watch hours of infomercial, we might want to see the same things repeatedly on the same program. Those people are brilliant!

In the 1990s Today tried an idea called "Later Today" and it was a complete wash. In fact, I think it only survived a couple of months. The program was an hour or so after Today ended and had completely different personalities. Obviously, if the extended Today is going to work, it is going to have to be seamless. It is already the longest daily morning show of the networks, the bet is that it can be longer still and successful. This is something we will have to wait until September to see.

Today Show's Lack of Environmental Concern?

I like the Today Show because it is a brilliant combination of engaging personalities, excellent interviews, even attractive video, and good old commercialism. No TV show leverages every minute of its air time to make money better than Today.

However, Today is ultimately positioned as a news program and rarely does a week go by where they don't take someone to task for "failing to go green," for being "environmentally insensitive," or telling people clever ways to be successful conservationists. With that, I am surprised that the program has gotten a pass from the blogosphere and others for its recent "Where in the World is Matt Lauer" segments.

Obviously the feature is extremely popular, taking Matt to exotic locations around the world in a week. This year his destinations were (in this order and from the site):

* Day One, Buenos Aires. "On the first leg of his global adventure, Matt visits a city known for steaks, wine, the tango and more..."

* Day Two, Amsterdam. "Matt jumps the pond to the city of bikes, red lights ... and tulips."

* Day Three, Laos. "Matt's third stop on his adventure takes him to Southeast Asia, to the the landlocked Communist country of Laos."

* Day Four, Istanbul. "For the best of both the East and West, Matt heads to Istanbul on the fourth leg of his journey."

* Day Five, Seychelles. "Matt finishes his adventure in an island paradise known for eco-tourism"

It has been an exciting five day journey with great sights and sounds (see video above). But look at the above destinations and a map and you will find that the show criss-crossed around the world adding thousands of miles to the journey as it practically flew over future locations. It boasted being the longest journey for Matt in the history of the feature, but with significant additional energy cost. Then again, the show enjoyed a boost in ratings this week, so I guess life is full of trade offs.

For a copy of the free audio program and free report, "Why Your Marketing Isn't Working," email Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com and put "marketing" in the subject line.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

Houston Business Show Celebrates Five Years

The Houston Business Show is celebrating its fifth year this month and over the last half decade the show has undergone enormous change. Here are a few highlights:

* It started off with my old friend Kent Batman as co-host, which he held that spot for about 5 months. Shortly after that Aubrey Theode was the host until January of this year. Then, Mark Jeffrey of UBuildIt served in that spot for six months and is now busily hosting his own show with me (the UBuildIt New Home Show). Currently I am hosting the show on my own with several guest co-hosts including Jim Stein of the Bank of Houston and others. Each of these people have made a great contribution to the show.

* When the show started there were many concerns of whether it could last. Remember what happened in September of 2001? By the end of the week that included September 11th I had lost roughly half of my sponsors for a show I had worked on for four months. I decided I wasn't going to allow terrorists to destroy my new venture. Today, the Houston Business Show is the longest running show on CNN 650. I guess we made a great choice.

* The show went from being on Sunday at noon to the very popular time of Monday at 1:00 PM. This is, of course, a much larger audience.

* There was no Business Show Advisors at the beginning, now we have them in virtually every business discipline and they play an important part of this show.

* There wasn't a HoustonBusiness.com or Houston Business Review, and you couldn't hear it online. I received an email around three years after starting the show from Steve Carr of HoustonJobs.com in which he asked if I would like to buy HoustonBusiness.com. I did want to and did so with the help of Henry Fasthoff and others. Today, thanks to excellent PR, web development, content development, huge directory development, news content and other efforts, HoustonBusiness.com has become an Internet monster with around 80,000 unique visitors each month, a Google ranking of 6 (the same as the Houston Business Journal and the Houston Chronicle), and now literally hundreds of pages of content.

* There was no Business Plus blog which has already developed a Google ranking of 4 in only 4 months.

There have been many changes since the show began in 2001, but our commitment to providing sound business news, from a solidly local perspective has been unchanging. If you want to learn more about the show, newsletter, or HoustonBusiness.com, email us at kj_hbr@sbcglobal.net.

Today Show Sends Warning to Men

I have been a big fan of the Today Show and have mentioned it often in this blog. The wildly successful infomercial (how I refer to it and it is a compliment) that was already on an hour longer than similar shows, has decided to expand to 11 AM. In anticipation of this big move, they have brought on several correspondents. With the exception of former New York Giant great, Tiki Barber (photo), all of the new people are women and their focus has been on topics that clearly leans towards women -- female fashion, cooking, make up, etc. I can't name any of these other women because none of them played in the NFL, but all of them are going to bring largely female oriented topics to the program in light of the way they were introduced (yes, cooking is a female topic, in my opinion).

In addition, the Today Show is investing a small fortune in a new set devoted to cooking segments. With four ovens and several stoves, this kitchen is serious! This kind of investment indicates to me that they will be spending a great deal of time cooking. It seems to me the future of Today is with women and that they plan on making it a competitor to the other lifestyle programs that are so common in the morning. The future of Today has a strong feminine bent.

Steve Hansen, Jim Stein, Ralph Fain on the Houston Business Show

One of my favorite activities is to spend time visiting with listeners during the Houston Business Show. In spite of the weather here in Houston today and the some what ghost town feeling as people celebrate Martin Luther King Day, I've got excellent guests lined up for this week's show.

Steve Hansen of Summit Financial Resources has been helping my audience learn how to finance their business -- and work towards a relationship with a bank -- for two years. On today's show he will be discussing a new product Summit is making available to clients. Learn more about Steve, who is a Houston Business Show Advisor, at Houston Business Review.

Jim Stein of the Bank of Houston (photo) is on today to discuss a new branch of the financial institution that will open in Memorial later this year. This will make three locations for the fast growing bank with offices just West of the Galleria and in the River Oaks area. The bank has grown 10 fold since it started just two years ago.

Finally, Ralph Fain, the Houston Business Show's business brokering expert, will be discussing the three ways people can own their own business -- starting from scratch, purchasing a pre-existing business, or by purchasing a franchise. This is an excellent way to begin 2007, as people consider ways of making this a great year for themselves financially. You can learn more about Ralph at the Houston Business Review.

Check out this and other programs, 24/7 at our Houston Business Show archive.

You Always Wondered What the Green Room Looked Like

Every serious talk show mentions the Green Room. That wonderful place where celebrities lounge and relax while waiting for the opportunity to show off to their audience. Over the years I have mentioned ours, but never revealed them until now.

You have heard such a room mentioned on the Today Show, discussed on Leno, and joked about on the David Letterman Show. Now, exclusively for listeners of the Houston Business Show, we are bringing our Green room to you (see the picture to the right).

You are seeing the very place our guests enjoy only the finest refreshments and visit before the show, where our experts plan their time on the air, and where great radio is developed. Note the comfortable chairs (there are actually a couple there, stacked), the well stocked vending machines (there's a soda machine next to the one pictured). With a coffee maker producing brew that will put hair in your chest, who needs Starbucks? Yes it is fabulous and although Hollywood won't show you their secret Green Rooms, I thought you would like to see what I'm referring to on most every show. Now you can see why our guests are anxious to get in the studio!

Supporting the Constitution just Is Not that Cool

When Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner was taken aback by Michele Bachman's aggressive questioning about the role of the Constitution in governing today, he was clearly uncomfortable. The Minnesota Congresswoman was clearly "not cool" in his view. It seems that we are now lead to believe that "smart," "sophisticated," and "relevant" individuals might appreciate how wonderful the Constitution was, but it is not really that useful today.

I recently did a radio interview where I went to great lengths to cite specifics of the Constitution. According to the host, the audience loved it and you could see that by the number of questions we were receiving. One comment stayed with me though. One person said, "I agree with everything you are saying, but how do you convey your message without sounding nuts." "Gee, thanks," I thought, but at the same time I understood his point. He was simply trying to tell me that, if you stick too close to the Constitution, you are often going to be dismissed by the people you talk to on the subject.

I'm afraid he is correct. To believe in the Constitution in a manner that the Founding Fathers intended, is to be willing to have the same attitude they had as they wrote the Declaration of Independence and together they stated that: "for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor."

People like:

• Carter Braxton of Virginia, who was a wealthy planter and trader. He saw his ships wiped out by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in poverty.
  
• Thomas McKeam was under such constant pursuit by the British that he was forced to continually move his family. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him and he too died in poverty.
  
• Francis Lewis had his properties destroyed. The British jailed his wife and she died within a few months.

I could go on, but the theme is similar... sacrifice, poverty and often death for what they believed in. Today, most people in politics have a rather smug view of the Constitution. Years of political correctness have led people to dismiss the law of this land as something of value in years past, but totally "out of date" today. Recently I interviewed a member of the Tea Party and mentioned that the dramatic moves of the government in so many different areas was clearly against the idea of state rights as seen in the Tenth Amendment. Her response was, "well, I don't really like to talk about the Tenth Amendment because that was used as an excuse for institutional racism." Well I hate to tell you, but state rights is the centerpiece of the US Constitution. That document is about the dispersion of power and they saw strong states and local governments as an primary means of achieving that.

To dismiss the Constitution because it has been used to protect racist policies in the past (and has since been corrected) is to advocate a government without law. That is exactly what we have today. A huge population that has come to the belief that the Constitution is irrelevant and instead of a government that is ruled by law, we have a government on autopilot. This is dishonest government.

I challenge people to study the Constitution and value its relevance today. I encourage people to challenge those who question the currency of the Constitution and ask them what they believe should govern our nation today. More than likely, their answer will be far more flimsy than the document that helped to make the US, the most free and prosperous country in the history of the world.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on CNN 650 (M-F at 11 am), AOL Radio, and CBS Radio. Eric Bolling of Fox News and Fox Business says that Price’s Blog “is very influential and moves the blogosphere.” Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

New Time, Day for the Houston Business Show

Today marked the new day (Monday) and time (1 PM) of the Houston Business Show on CNN 650. The Houston Business Show is the longest running show on CNN 650 and I'm delighted to be a part of it.

In one hour I visited with an organization expert, a business broker, a private investigator, and the President of the Bank of Houston (Jim Stein, our new Title Sponsor). This show proved to be about the fastest hour in radio. It is interesting that we enter this new chapter just a few weeks before the 5th Anniversary of the radio show.

In the weeks that come I will be interviewing Kent Batman, who was the original co-host of the Houston Business Show; Aubrey Theode who was the longest co-host and who now has a show on KSEV 700; and Mark Jeffrey of UBuildIt who was my most recent co-host and who still makes frequent appearances and has his own show with me on Fridays at 1 PM (the UBuildIt New Home Show). I'll visit with many of the other events that made this a successful show in the weeks to come.

I'm excited by the big changes for the show and to the continued relationship with the station and its audience.

From the Houston Business Show Studios...

I'm writing today's blog entry from the studios of the Houston Business Show high above the city of Houston (at CNN 650). Yes, it sounds glamorous and it is true that we are high in the sky (around the 19th floor and fantastic view), but the actual studio I do the show from is smaller than my closet. In fact, a regular joke among personalities associated with the station is that we "come out of the closet" after each program.

On today's program, the first live one from 2007, I visited with Jim Stein of the Bank of Houston, which is a title sponsor of the show. The Bank of Houston is built on the concept that "everything old is new again." Back "in the old days," banks were born out of the neighborhoods they operated in and were built on the concept of relationship banking. Today, that largely seems to be little more than a nifty advertising slogan for most financial institutions. That is where the Bank of Houston differs, it truly is a bank of and for Houston.

Being a new year, I wanted to help individuals get organized with our first program and with that I had Holly Uverity of Office Organizers and Shahara Wright of The Wright Law Firm on about getting one's office and legal issues, in order for 2007. Both of these ladies are also Houston Business Show Advisors with articles at the Houston Business Review.

Holly emphasized the importance of making the beginning of the year a great opportunity to get one's business together. That process usually begins with developing the necessary systems to make your business more organized and effective. Being organized saves a business both time and money and makes it more productive.

Shahara discussed the fact that people are under going constant changes, but often fail to make sure their legal situation keeps up with them. Often, when a new business partner is being added to a firm or an individual gets married, people seem too busy to have the legal paper work reflect those changes. Spending time evaluating the previous year, and considering what changes are necessary, is a great way to begin the month of January.

Remember, you can hear the Houston Business Show 24/7 and around the world by visiting our archive.

Where Keynes Went Wrong

I recently received an advanced review copy of a compelling and important book entitled "Where Keynes Went Wrong," scheduled to be published on October 1, 2009 by Axios Press. One of the perks of hosting a show is the large number of free books I receive every month. Better still is getting books weeks before they are released. This particular book, by Hunter Lewis, is fantastic and is must reading for those who are concerned about the future of our country. It provides one of the most thorough critiques of John Maynard Keynes and, more importantly, it restores the economic way of thinking that use to be a central part of Western thought and was the mighty force that made nations prosper. If nations applied the principles in Hunter's book, those nations would grow economically.

The timing for the book could not better. One year ago the US economy (and many economies around the world) began a terrible meltdown and responded with an approach very similar to what economist John Maynard Keynes promoted during the Great Depression. Lewis' compelling and powerful book eloquently argues that Keynes approach made that Depression far worse than it should have been and will have a similar impact on our economic situation today.

In the press release for the book we see that "When the world financial system began to fall in 2008, the US government reacted decisively with a stimulus package, bailouts, and printing, borrowing, and spending trillions of dollars. All of these interventions were taken from a playbook devised by the last century's most influential economist, John Maynard Keynes. But is Keynes right? The implications of this question are large and timely. If Keynes is wrong, then so are the economic policies of Barack Obama, George W. Bush, and virtually all governments today."

He tackles Keynes with extraordinary vigor and raises the questions that are desperate to the issues of the day. Did Keynes have proof for his theories? Lewis argues that the answer is absolutely not. In fact, the author noted in an interview that "Overall, the most surprising thing is the lack of evidence, much less proof for anything he says. It is just a series of brilliant hunches. But there is really nothing to back up the hunches. In the whole of the General Theory, Keynes most important book, there are only two pages devoted to actual evidence." Imagine building an economy on such flimsy evidence and even those two pages were lacking.

The two pages -- and the rest of the book -- are full of paradoxes that tend to only confuse and not bolster his arguments. The following are a few examples from Lewis of the type of approach Keynes would take to problems based on the General Theory:

• "If too much bad debt is the problem, for example during the Crash of 2008, the solution is to add more debt."


• "An economy depends on the confidence of the players. If confidence has been shaken by too much bad debt, restore confidence by adding more."


• "If low interest rates held down long have caused trouble, lower them further and hold them down longer."


• "If the public seems to be opposing the idea of borrowing and spending more, their elected representatives in government can do it for them."

These types of paradoxes (and many more) not only confuse the debate, but when they are applied in the form of public policy the consequences for the Great Depression was an economic downturn that lasted almost two decades. The jury is out on what kind of impact Obama's policies will have today, but human nature and the way a person responds to polices is unchanged. Lewis does an excellent job of providing a window of our own possible future based on the policy pursuits of Obama. What we can expect is long term pain.

This book is extremely readable and might be a force to impact the opinions of the general public. Unfortunately, I don't think most people will read a book about John Maynard Keynes except for those in the academic world who have already made conclusions about the economist. Many are familiar with the popular book, Free to Choose by Milton Friedman, but virtually no one (outside of academia) know about Capitalism and Freedom (also by Friedman) which has almost the exact same message. Titles matter. One that focused on our problems, rather than the philosopher behind them, would likely be a more popular work. This book is great, however, and with the times we are in it could create a huge following. With it coming out just before the holiday season, I believe this could be the idea gift for the person looking for answers to today's biggest problems.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

What will Fox News do with Glenn Beck?

Back in 2007 Don Imus set off a bomb when he called the women basketball team at Rutgers University "nappy headed hoes" during his daily broadcast on CBS Radio and MSNBC TV and was dismissed from both networks. Within no time Imus was back on the air on a different radio (Citadel) and TV (RFD-TV) network. Imus is about to upgrade his TV affiliation by joining the Fox Business Network. Imus rebuilt a significant amount of audience in no time and is bringing that crowd to Rupert Murdoch's business TV network.

Rupert Murdoch is one of the savviest people in media today, but his Fox News network is in a similar dilemma that MSNBC was in with Imus. Glenn Beck, host of the ever popular "Glenn Beck Show" told the Fox viewing public back in July (on the network's morning show, "Fox and Friends") that President Obama has a "deep-seated hatred of white people and white culture." It was really an off the cuff statement spoken in passing upon observing some of the President's choices, that led Beck coming to such a conclusion. Off the cuff? Maybe, but it has created a stir and has the network buckling down as it faces an onslaught of attack. An organization called the Color of Change has waged a boycott on the network and it has been effective in the financial arena. The Atlantic points out that "Lots of big companies who advertise on Fox have signed onto the boycott, orchestrated by Color of Change to protest Beck's proposition that President Obama is a racist, reportedly including Wal-Mart, Sprint, Travelers Insurance, General Mills, DirecTV, Geico, Progressive, Procter & Gamble, Radio Shack, Men's Wearhouse, GMAC Financial Services--at least 36 companies in all. (UPDATE: as commenter Mike Cee points out, Color of Change put the total at 46 after announcing 10 more yesterday.)" An hour long program would typically not have more than 40 sponsors, so this is a huge number by any standard.

I think that many advertisers who are currently on the Glenn Beck Show are not actual sponsors of his program, but of the network in general and are being placed in the "best times available" (BTA) which is one of the cheapest media buys. Many of these ad buyers are getting multiples of the exposure they are use to receiving at BTA. If this is the case, Fox News is probably losing money compared to what they normally enjoy for Glenn Beck's hour. However, I think everyone, even Beck and Fox News, are crying all the way to the bank. The LA Times points out in an article titled "UPDATED: As boycott continues, Glenn Beck's audience swells" that the TV host and Fox network "attracted 2.81 million viewers Monday, his third-largest audience since his show launched on Fox News in January, according to Nielsen Media Research data provided by the network. On Tuesday, nearly 2.7 million viewers tuned in, his fifth-largest viewership to date. And the conservative host got a plug from former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who urged people to watch his program in a post on her Facebook page." The Times went on to quote Palin, saying “"FOX News' Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House,' she wrote Wednesday to her 800,000-plus supporters."

In light of the audience Beck is receiving and the "ink" the networking is enjoying in the media, this temporary lost in revenue is little more than a high priced advertising campaign that should pay the network off significantly over time. As long as Murdoch and his team take a strategic approach and stay with the host, the network should be all the better when the dust finally settles.

If Fox can't handle the heat, I think the ratings hungry MSNBC would be delighted to get Glenn Beck in what they might call "Don Imus Revenge."

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

Are the Rich Necessary?

Hunter Lewis, author of the provocative Where Keynes Went Wrong, produced another winning book in Are the Rich Necessary?. Clearly policy makers in Washington, DC do not seem to think so and seem to have a very hostile view of the affluent. The "goose that lays the golden egg" is certainly in season. Lewis asks several tough questions that people need to ask in order to get a better understand of the economy and the world..

Lewis is a prolific writer who has written for The Atlantic, The New York Times, and the Washington Post and is the author of six books including the before mentioned Where Kenynes Went Wrong. He co-founded Cambridge Associates, a global investment firm whose clientele reads like a who's who of leading endowments and families, and includes the most prominent American universities. he has also served on boards and committees of fifteen leading nonprofits including the World Bank. He has appeared on "The Today Show," NPR, Fox and the BBC. He lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Lewis tackles many important questions, including:

Does Obama's objective of limiting charitable deductions for the rich make sense?

What impact is Wall Street having on politics (and vice versa)?

Is the income gap actually widening and if it is, what can be done to reverse that trend?

Has anything really been done to prevent another crash like the one in 2008?

Was the crash attributed to our profit system? Are there viable alternatives to such?

Should we tax average Americans to bailout major financial corporations?

Are the rich even compatible with a free society?

His answers are thorough, thoughtful, and even humorous. He loves to challenge conventional wisdom and does so on virtually every page of the book. The book is thorough and covers many areas of economics and could actually be an introductory text or compliment to such in an introductory economics class. Unfortunately, in our current academic culture, that is largely a dream and not likely to be found in your local college. This is all the more reason why you need to find it yourself.

The best may have been saved for last, in this important book. There, Lewis argues a new way to fill the gap between the rich and poor, of those who want free enterprise and those who want to make sure there are safety nets for the needy. His answer is to foster massive growth of nonprofits through changes in the tax structure. His ultimate goal is to raise nonprofits to the same stature as government when it comes to being a source of help in the eyes of the public.

Lewis brings to light the stark realities that mandate that we need informed voters who can help restore a healthy attitude towards the engines of prosperity that are currently an endangered species. Are the Rich Necessary? is an excellent place to begin that journey.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.

If a Policy is Bad in a Good Economy...

On my radio show today I interviewed one of my favorite economists, Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal. He was on to discuss his latest book, The End of Prosperity, and it is must reading. In a very simple and straight forward manner, Moore and co-authors Arthur B. Laffer and Peter Tanous explain what works and doesn't work in our economic system.

One of the areas Moore and I discussed was the fact that government entertains things they would do when the economy is healthy, but would never do when it is weak. If there is a time that such a policy is harmful at all, isn't it safe to conclude that the policy is not in the economy's best interest ever?

On today's show we discussed the fact that Barack Obama is discussing reversing his position on raising taxes on the top five percent because that could make our weakening economy worse. Obama is finally conceding that jobs are made by that top 5 percent and the country simply can't afford more loses. Yet what jobs have we already lost with an economy that has the top one percent paying 27 percent of the revenue? What is more the top twenty percent pays 67 percent. Obama seems to be admitting that adding any more pressure on this group is harmful, but what of the damage already done? It would be interesting if Obama's tax cut discussion was spread to the job creating highest income group. Am I advocating the end of taxes for the rich? Absolutely not, just a fair tax or flat tax that encourages everyone to want to become richer.

Congress is also talking about slowing down the move towards increasing CAFE standards, which are designed to lower fuel consumption. Because of the dire straights of the Big Three automakers, policy makers are reconsidering because of the potential of further damage. Instead of trying incentives to move towards better fuel standards, they seem to be able to use their complete lack of imagination for either increasing regulations to the automakers demise or do nothing at all. They are considering the latter at this point.

Then there is the minimum wage increase which went up just a few months ago (July 24). Since that time we have seen a dramatic jump in unemployment -- the largest increase in 16 years. Minimum wage increases are not even included in the current economic discussion, but there is no doubt among economists that this artificial increase in wages is weakening job creation. Although there is no discussion about reversing this increase, there may be a growing debate about postponing the massive jump scheduled for July of 2009. Again, if the policy is harmful in a weak economy, why is the policy ever beneficial? Furthermore, if such increases cause no harm (as Democrats often argue), why nickle and dime with a dollar here or fifty cents there? Everyone knows that a twenty dollar an hour minimum wage would put a fork in this economy, so how does one justify a minimum wage at all?

Many cities in the US -- Camden, NJ; East St. Louis, MO; and Detroit, MI are in perennial recessions. How can the federal government determine what is best for these cities when it comes to wages? I have long argued that if we must have a minimum wage (a standard practice today), it should be done by cities and states, not by the federal government.

But the larger principle remains. If these policies do harm in bad economies, how are they beneficial at all? Steve Moore summed it up best, "that is a debate that the left doesn't want to have."

Kevin Price is a syndicated columnist whose articles frequently appear at ChicagoSunTimes.com, Reuters.com, USAToday.com, and other national media. Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at PriceofBusiness.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

More Changes at Fox News

The last year has been very volatile for the Fox News network. New shows arriving, old shows going, and the reshuffling of various personalities. Just when it appeared the dust may finally have begun to settle, we hear there are more changes coming for the network.

One of my favorite information sources, Mediabistro, reported the following this past week:

"TVNewser has learned America's Election HQ is returning to the Fox News Channel schedule beginning Monday. The 5pm ET show will be anchored by a rotating series of anchors through election day. E.D. Hill will host next week."

"Just In with Laura Ingraham ends its three-week run tomorrow. Ingraham was aware the show was temporary, and she will continue as primary fill-in for Bill O'Reilly."

"As for John Gibson whose show, Big Story, was replaced by America's Election HQ in February, he continues his show on Fox News Radio."

I'm delighted to see E.D. Hill back on a more regular basis and look forward to her having a designated spot daily once again. She is one of the more articulate and intelligent broadcast journalists today.

Laura Ingraham knew going into her recent show, Just In, that the program was intended to be temporary. How long, nobody knew. We have recently found out it was a mere three weeks. Ironically, she is losing this show just as she worked out the negotiations on her radio program and is back on the airwaves for that successful program. Ingraham is fine on TV, but better on the radio. I almost think that she welcomes the changes.

Meanwhile, John Gibson, will remain on the radio. However, if they are rotating hosts for America's Election HQ, we might see him on that program. We will have to wait and see. When it comes to the media, about the only constant you can depend on is change.

Best selling author Ken Blanchard recently revealed the secrets of entrepreneurship on a Houston Business Show. Receive a free copy of the complete program by emailing Info@HoustonBusinessShow.com.

Kevin Price is Host of the Houston Business Show (M-F at 11 AM on CNN 650) and Publisher of the Houston Business Review. Hear the show live and online at HoustonBusinessShow.com. Visit the archive of past shows here.

The Eclectic Format of Strategy Room Biz Hour

Every time I am a guest on FoxNews.com's Strategy Room, I am amazed about how much territory we cover. The Biz Hour, hosted by Eric Bolling, is an eclectic program that, on the surface, would make people wonder, "What does this have to do with business?" Having been on the program several times, here are just a few of the topics we have covered:

* The demise of the domestic auto industry

* Somali pirates

* The volatile stock market

* The Iran and North Korea nuclear threat

* and socialized medicine

This some what "scattered" approach is one that I have long taken when it comes to the Price of Business show that I have hosted since 2001. All of these issues are our business and if one is not aware of them, it could greatly affect cash flow. That is why my radio program spends so much time dealing with politics. Government is increasingly the "meddling partner" who is regulating and taxing many entrepreneurs out of business. They need to know what is coming from Washington, DC and what it will do to their enterprises.

Same is true with the many other headlines we address. How does the threat of nuclear war between India and Pakistan effect business owners here in the US? Thomas Friedman points out, "plenty," in his book The World is Flat. In 2001 those two nations appeared very close to engaging in such a war and business owners in the West were concerned how this would disrupt their inventory of goods they depend on. US business owners got on the phone with Indian vendors and said, "sorry, but we are going to have to look at the Pacific Rim for sources, your potential nuclear war is placing a strain on my business." This seemed to be happening all over the country and business owners got on the phone and gave the Indian government a reality check, which contributed to cooling heads prevailing and a toning down on the rhetoric. Who would have thought, "nuclear war and your business" as a show theme. That is the reality that we live in today. The "Biz Hour" of Strategy Room understands the link between the headlines and your business more than the vast majority of shows in any media.

Another essential element to the success of Strategy Room is how the program draws heavily on its audience for its direction. The audience tells Bolling and the other hosts what they want and they expect it now. Being a guest on that program, therefore, is not for the faint of heart. It is a program that attracts generalists who are comfortable covering many different areas, a dying breed in a world of specialists.

I believe that Strategy Room in general and the Biz Hour in particular are trendsetters that will profoundly affect all news programming. Recognizing the big picture, hearing the interest of the audience, accompanied by solid generalists who understand the larger context, make for an excellent business show.

Kevin Price is Host of the Price of Business, the longest running show on AM 650 (M-F at 11 am) in Houston, Texas and on AOL Radio. His articles often appear in Chicago Sun Times, Reuters, USA Today, and other national media. Steve Moore of the Wall Street Journal calls Price the “best business talk show host in the country.” Find out why and visit his blog at www.BizPlusBlog.com and his show site at www.PriceofBusiness.com. You can also find Price on Strategy Room at FoxNews.com.