ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J., Dec. 19, 2007---CNBC, First in Business Worldwide, today named the American Homeowner as Person of the Year in contrast to the announcement this morning that Time magazine named Russian President Vladimir Putin as its Person of the Year.

"There is no question that the subprime mortgage crisis has had a major impact on the U.S. and world economy," said Jonathan Wald, Senior Vice President, Business News, CNBC. "With foreclosures rising sharply and housing prices dropping in virtually all regions of the country, the plight of the American Homeowner is a story whose scope reaches far beyond the U.S. It has also become a critical topic in the 2008 Presidential campaign."

The issue will be debated throughout CNBC Business Day (5 AM-7 PM ET) and on CNBC.com where a "Live Vote" is underway asking the question:

"We at CNBC think the American homeowner should have been named Person of the Year. What do you think?"

The choices:

• "Yes. The American homeowner has been through the ringer this year and deserves the nod"
• "No, Time made the right call in naming Putin"
• "No, but Time should have named someone else."

In an interview this morning on CNBC's "Squawk Box," (6 AM-9 AM ET), Richard Stengel, Time's managing editor, explained the magazine's decision. "We live in a serious time," he said, "and Vladimir Putin has performed a colossal feat of leadership in taking a country that was basically a basketcase a few years ago and bringing it back to the table of power and the table of nations."

In November, CNBC expanded its already unparalleled coverage of the critical real estate industry by establishing "The Home Front," a daily series of reports that provides news and analysis affecting home buyers, sellers, owners, builders, lenders and investors.

About CNBC:
CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 340 million homes worldwide, including more than 95 million households in the United States and Canada. The network's Business Day programming (weekdays from 5:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and also includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. Additionally, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com.

Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://nbcumv.com/cnbc/.