Erin Burnett

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Erin Isabelle Burnett
Erin Burnett, 2008-03-17
Born	1976
Birth place	Mardela Springs, Maryland, U.S.
Circumstances
Occupation	News Anchor, Journalist
Other names	"Maria 2.0", "Street Sweetie"
Title	CNBC's Squawk on the Street co-anchor and Street Signs anchor
Notable credit(s)
Agent	CAA
Official website

Erin Isabelle Burnett^[1] is a business news anchor, reporter and interviewer for CNBC television. She is the co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk on the Street program, weekdays from 9-11am EST. She and co-host Mark Haines broadcast from a set overlooking the New York Stock Exchange. In addition to Squawk on the Street, she is the host of CNBC's Street Signs program from 2-3pm EST.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Career 2.1 Host shows 3 Popular culture 4 Controversy 4.1 Chinese exports commentary 4.2 Bush remarks 5 Quotes 6 References 7 External links

[edit] Personal life

Burnett was born and raised in a small town on the eastern shore of Maryland. She attended St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, graduating in 1994; her yearbook predicted that "in 20 years..." she would be a "talk show host".^[1] Burnett would later attend Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, the same college her two older sisters had attended. ^{[2] [3]}

While at Williams College, she studied political science and economics and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy. As an undergrad, she also excelled in both varsity lacrosse and field hockey, where she earned second-team all conference honors.

[edit] Career

Burnett began her career in 1998 as an analyst for Goldman Sachs in their investment banking division, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.

While working as an investment-banking analyst, Burnett was offered a position at CNN as a writer and booker for CNN's Moneyline with Stuart Varney, Willow Bay, and Lou Dobbs.

From CNN, she moved to Citigroup, where she served as Vice President for Citigroup/CitiMedia, and was responsible for all anchoring of the Citigroup online financial news network. ^[4]

Burnett accepted a position in 2003 with Bloomberg Television, where she was the anchor of Bloomberg on the Markets, covering the stock market open and newsmaker interviews, and In Focus, where she broke down the day's top business story.

Burnett is currently the host of CNBC's Street Signs and co-anchor of Squawk on the Street. Since making her debut on Squawk in December 2005, the program's ratings are up 142% over first quarter 2006 in adults 25-54; while Street Signs is up 57% in the same demographic. ^[5]

[edit] Host shows

• Street Signs (2005-present)
• Squawk on the Street (2005-present)
• Bloomberg on the Markets (2003-2005)

[edit] Popular culture

On June 4, 2007, Burnett handily won an online poll of the "hottest" financial news anchors on Wall Street gossip blog Dealbreaker.com. She received 37 percent of the votes while rival CNBC anchor Becky Quick came in second place with 22 percent. Maria Bartiromo only received 13 percent, prompting media watchers to dub Burnett "Maria 2.0." ^{[6] [7]}

On July 17, 2007, Burnett received round praise from conservative talk show host Rush Limbaugh for her report on the The Today Show about the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the strength of the U.S. economy. The commentary on commentary continued into the next day. ^[8]

[edit] Controversy

[edit] Chinese exports commentary

During an August 10, 2007 appearance on the MSNBC program Hardball with Chris Matthews, Burnett commented on the standard of Chinese-made goods (see 2007 Chinese export recalls):

I think people should be careful what they wish for on China. You know, if China were to revalue its currency or China is to start making, say, toys that don't have lead in them or food that isn't poisonous, their costs of production are going to go up, and that means prices at Wal-Mart here in the United States are going to go up, too. So I would say China is our greatest friend right now. They're keeping prices low and they're keeping prices for mortgages low, too.^[9]

Burnett's commentary was criticized by satirist Jon Stewart on the August 16 edition of The Daily Show.^[10] The following day, Burnett revisited her remarks during another appearance on Hardball:

You know, this follows what you and I were talking about. It has happened to Mattel a couple of times. Toys made in China, there are some safety questions, all right? That's the fact.

And you and I were talking about—this is what people got upset about. I had said that, look, if people want to start making toys, and, by an extension, a lot of other things guaranteed to be safe, and make them in China, then the costs of production are going to go up in China, and that means prices at Wal-Mart may go up, too.

China has kept prices low in this country. And that's why I called China our friend the other night on Hardball. But, you know, Chris, nobody wants children to play with toys that are not safe. Nobody wants that. I don't want that. You don't want that. But safety and quality come with a price.^[11]

[edit] Bush remarks

On a November 26, 2007, appearance on the MSNBC program Morning Joe, Burnett commented on French President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit to China. After file footage of Sarkozy and George W. Bush was shown, Burnett appeared to refer to Bush as a "monkey" and, after a bemused reaction from show host Joe Scarborough, the "monkey in the middle".^[12] Several weblogs, including the conservative Media Research Center's NewsBusters, criticized Burnett for the remarks.^[12] During an appearance on Hardball with Chris Matthews the following Friday, Burnett apologized for her comments, characterizing them as "a bad attempt at humor" and stating that she had "the utmost respect for the President".^[13]

[edit] Quotes

• When asked if she had always wanted to be a television journalist, Burnett said, "I wish I could say I was one of those people that grew up wanting to be Jane Pauley, but we only had three channels. There was no cable, no satellite; there wasn’t even an NBC affiliate in my town. I remember having a big crush on Dan Rather though, and I remember watching the MacNeil-Lehrer News Hour; but no I didn’t want to be a television journalist." ^[2]

• When asked about being considered the next-generation Maria Bartiromo, Burnett said, "People always like to have rivalries. She and I get along, but we have different styles. I don’t know if the comparison is flattering [to either one of us]."^[14]

• In a short feature she wrote for Men's Health magazine, "8 Ways To Impress Me," Burnett indicated her fondness for yoga, travel, and receiving expensive gifts, adding: "Family is important to me, so round-trip business-class tickets to Australia and New Zealand for my parents would earn you big points in my book."^[15]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Erin Burnett biography at CNBC
• Erin Burnett at the Internet Movie Database
• Squawk on the Street official website at CNBC
• Street Signs official website at CNBC