Squawk Box

Infobox Television
show_name = Squawk Box


caption =
genre = business news program, talk show
creator =
developer =
presenter = Joe Kernen
Rebecca Quick
(2005-present)
Carl Quintanilla
(2005-present)
Mark Haines
(1995-2005)
voices =
narrated =
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opentheme =
endtheme =
country = USA
language = English
num_seasons =
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list_episodes =
producer =
executive_producer =
location =
camera =
runtime = 180 minutes (3 hours)
network = CNBC
picture_format =
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first_run =
first_aired = August, 1995
last_aired = present
preceded_by =
followed_by = incumbent
related =
website = http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838368/site/14081545/
imdb_id =
tv_com_id =
slogan = Where Business Turns First (2007(?) — present)

"Squawk Box" is a long-running business news television program which airs at breakfast time on the CNBC network. The program is currently co-hosted by Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick and Carl Quintanilla. Since debuting in 1995, the show has spawned a number of versions across CNBC's international channels, many of which employ a similar format. The program title originates from the term for the use of an intercom in investment banks and stock brokerages to communicate stock deals or sales priorities.

Format

Dubbed "our pre-game show" by regular co-host Joe Kernen,cite news
last=Strauss
first=Robert
title=NEW JERSEY & CO.; All Eyes Are on Fort Lee
url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=980CE1DE1E31F930A15757C0A9669C8B63
date=23 April, 2000
publisher=The New York Times
accessdate=2007-11-26] "Squawk Box" features early-morning analysis of and breaking news from the financial markets, along with considerable banter between the hosts and their guests - original host Mark Haines stressed the need to "inject a little fun" into business news in the early morning. Another distinctive and long-running feature of the show has been its use of daily "guest hosts" - figures from the world of business and politics who join the team for much of the broadcast, questioning guests as well as offering their own opinions.

Regular contributors to the show include Melissa Lee, Darby Dunn (who presents the "CNBC.com Biz Wire" segments), Christine Tan (who reports on the Asian markets from CNBC Asia headquarters in Singapore), Ross Westgate (who covers the European markets from CNBC Europe in London), Sharon Epperson (NYMEX), Rick Santelli (Chicago), Steve Liesman, and CNBC senior analyst Ron Insana.

Meteorologists from NBC Weather Plus contribute to the "Business Travel Forecast" segments.

History

"Squawk Box"’s core on-air team remained intact for many years - the program was originally presented by New Jersey lawyer Mark Haines, along with in-studio reporters Joe Kernen and David Faber and Maria Bartiromo at the New York Stock Exchange. CNBC's senior economics reporter Steve Liesman also became a frequent contributor. Alexis Glick joined the team as senior trading correspondent in May 2003, [cite web
last=Thomas-Graham
first=Pamela
title=CELEBRATION 50: WHAT I LEARNED AT HARVARD LAW SCHOOL
url=http://www.law.harvard.edu/students/orgs/jlg/vol27/thomas-graham.php#fn1
date=3 May, 2003
publisher=Harvard Law School
accessdate=2007-11-26] while Bartiromo stepped down from her position in 2004 to concentrate on other duties. [cite news
last=Patsuris
first=Penelope
title=Mornings Without Maria?
url=http://www.forbes.com/2004/05/13/cx_pp_0513maria.html
date=13 May, 2004
publisher=Forbes
accessdate=2007-11-26] Rebecca Quick later replaced Glick as a reporter.

For many years the program covered the opening bells of the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ Stock Market at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Other regular segments included the "Squawk Exchange", where the team (particularly Faber and Kernen) shared banter on various topics, "On the Box" (rapid-fire summaries of the day's headlines) and "Joe's World", where Kernen sounded off on the day's notable stock stories.

During the period when CNBC's online presence was housed at MSN Money, the show held its own daily "Squawk Back Poll" on the website, where viewers voted on a topical issue. In May 2005 the program established its own blog on Windows Live Spaces, called "SquawkBlog", where the program hosts posted their thoughts, although this is no longer in use.

2005 revamp

The program underwent a significant revamp on December 19, 2005 with the show moving to the 6:00am ET timeslot and Joe Kernen, Rebecca Quick and Carl Quintanilla helming a new tri-anchor format alongside on-air editor Charles Gasparino. Haines and Faber moved to a newly-created program, "Squawk on the Street", anchored from the NYSE by Haines and Erin Burnett with Faber at CNBC headquarters. As a result of these changes, coverage of the market open at 9:30am ET passed to "Squawk on the Street". The "guest host" feature of "Squawk Box" was dropped immediately after the revamp but later reinstated.

There was a significant amount of initial negative feedback about the changes made to "Squawk", most notably the removal of Mark Haines from the team. [cite web
title=CNBC Has Received "Tens of Thousands" of Complaints About New Graphics & Noises
url=http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnbc/cnbc_has_received_tens_of_thousands_of_complaints_about_new_graphics_noises_29989.asp
date=27 December, 2005
publisher=TV Newser
accessdate=2007-11-26] On the "Squawk Box" blog, over 200 complaints were entered into the site, along with numerous messages posted on the CNBC message board. [cite web
last=Quintanilla
first=Carl
authorlink=Carl Quintanilla
title=Why The New Squawk Box?
url=http://squawkblog.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!F1B804819090AC65!2185.entry
date=16 December, 2005
publisher=CNBC
accessdate=2007-11-26]

how times

The program airs from 6 a.m. until 9 a.m. Eastern Time in the United States.

It is also relayed live on CNBC Europe from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. CET except on the week between the last Sunday of March and the first Sunday of April. Sometimes it is at least partially pre-empted for local programming, particularly to cover European Central Bank interest rate announcements and the subsequent press conferences.

In Asia, the show is aired in its entirety on CNBC Asia from Mondays to Wednesdays from 19.00 SIN time. Its first half hour is pre-empted on Thursdays to air "The Leaders" while on Fridays the first hour is pre-empted to air "Asia Market Week" and "Managing Asia".

pin-offs

"Squawk Box Weekend Edition"

CNBC once aired "Squawk Box Weekend Edition" weekends from 7:30 to 8pm ET during circa 1999 to 2000, also hosted by Mark Haines.

Worldwide "Squawk Box"

Around CNBC's global branches, there are many "Squawk Boxes" in the world:

Among the above, "Squawk Box Europe" and "Asia Squawk Box" are the counterparts which resemble the original "Squawk Box" the most:

*They are all three hours in duration.
*They all have a guest host appearing on the show, mostly after the first hour.
*In addition, Maria Bartiromo has served as a guest co-anchor on both "Squawk Box Europe" and "Asia Squawk Box".

"Fantasy Portfolio Challenge"

150,221 players participated in the "Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio Challenge", a stock-picking contest that ran from 2006-04-04 through 2006-05-26. The winner of the "Squawk Box Fantasy Portfolio Challenge", which was announced live at the end of the 2006-06-02 episode, was Thomas Ko of California. His $5,015,735 portfolio value outpaced all the other contenders. He was also the winner of a brand-new, limited-production, 2006 Maserati GranSport.

See also

*"Squawk Box Europe" (a CNBC Europe program anchored by Geoff Cutmore)
*"Asia Squawk Box" (a CNBC Asia program anchored by Martin Soong and Amanda Drury)
*"Squawk on the Street" (a CNBC US program anchored from the NYSE by Mark Haines and Erin Burnett, which follows this one)
*"Squawk Australia" (a CNBC Asia program anchored from Sydney by Jeffrey James)
*"Fox Business Morning" (a Fox Business Network program aired 5-7 AM in the same timeslot)
*"Money for Breakfast" (a Fox Business Network program aired 7-9 AM in the same timeslot)

References

External links

* [http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838368/site/14081545/ "Squawk Box" - CNBC.com]
* [http://spaces.msn.com/members/squawkblog SquawkBlog] (formerly the show's official blog) on MSN Spaces
* [http://www.cnbc.com/id/15837814 New "Squawk Blog": "Before the Bell" on CNBC.com (Since 2006-12-04)]