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Funny Business
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For Halloween I'm dressing up as one of the scariest characters out there: a member of the mainstream media.
Thursday night, my colleague Julia Boorstin and I attended a fundraiser for the Big Brothers/Big Sisters of Greater Los Angeles and the Inland Empire. It was at the Beverly Hills Hilton. Classic stuff. Fred Willard hosted, with help from Jo Anne Worley. Actress Abigail Breslin was honored, along with long-time Tom Cruise associate Paula Wagner. Larry King popped in, as did Cuba Gooding, Jr. Doris Roberts went up on stage during the entertainment. I drank too much and laughed too loud.
I guess you could call it your typical rubber chicken civic affairs fundraiser...Beverly Hills style. Food was great. Open bar.
They had an auction to raise money. One very popular item was the chance to be first in line for the valet when the night ended. That went for $1,250. Only in LA.
The Year in Banners: "Big Bank Theory" and "Oil Vey"
CNBC viewers are used to seeing us plaster all kinds of information on the screen, including banners across the bottom which are supposed to reinforce whatever the anchors and reporters are talking about. Sometimes we like to have fun and create banners that are both informative AND clever.
Here are some of the best of 2008, along with the people at CNBC who authored them:
Lisa Thaler, on Starbucks' restructuring last winter:
BEAN THERE, DONE THAT
Sandy Cannold, on drilling for oil in Beverly Hills:
9-0-2-1-OIL
Jason Gewirtz, on Brian Schactment re-enacting his search for a Wii:
Re-En-Schactment
John Klekamp, on a Mike Huckman story about a pregnancy test commercial using the word "pee":
MARKETING WIZ
Michelle Dorfman on Jane's story as soybean prices surge to record levels:
SOY VEY
Ryan Ruggiero as oil hits record levels:
OIL VEY
Bertha Coombs as Boone Pickens shorts oil, gets squeezed, then prices ease:
BOONE'S SHORTS GET A LITTLE BREATHING ROOM
Bertha (again!) on the breakdown in talks between Microsoft and Yahoo, which is based in Mountainview, CA:
BROKEBACK MOUNTAINVIEW
Bertha (ok, enough already!) on mining stocks hitting new highs:
MINE HIGH CLUB
Andy Fisher, on Susan Lyne stepping down as CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia in June:
OUT LYNE
DEAD LYNE
LYNE OF FIRE
FIRING LYNE
BOTTOM LYNE
Andy on a sinkhole eating part of east Texas last May:
SINKHOLD DE MAYO
More from Andy, on some banks using TARP money to buy other banks:
BIG BANK THEORY
Rich Fisherman, on dueling soundbites this week from Carlos Slim and Boone Pickens:
SLIM PICKENS
Questions? Comments? Funny Stories? Email
Data is a real-time snapshot *Data is delayed at least 15 minutes