CNBC's Schacknow: Markets Rest--And What's A Deko?

Missed It By That Much: One of the Breaking News Desk producer’s jobs is to keep a watchful eye on the market numbers for any broken records. Yes, I know what you’re thinking - we SOUND like a broken record, trumpeting all these records. Hey, we went 6 and ½ years without any new highs for the Dow, so we take what the market gives us. And what it’s given us is 22 record closes for the Dow since the beginning of October.

Not so today, though. I was ready with my finger on the button to let the world know that the Dow was about to set yet another intraday high. I drew up the “deko” and waited .. and we never got there. The Dow came within 16/100ths of a point just after the 10 am release of consumer confidence, new home sales, and the Chicago Purchasing Managers Index. The numbers were all bullish, but investors were apparently in the mood for a breather after this week’s rally.

What The Hecko Is A Deko?: Regular readers of this space (my mom, my wife, and some close friends and relatives) often see references to a “deko”. As I’ve explained before, a deko is merely another word for what’s more widely known as a “chyron” or “super” - written information on the screen. But why “deko”?

“Chyron” is the “Kleenex” of the TV industry - it’s become a generic term for a super, but it stems from the company that first set the standard for character generating machines, Chyron Corporation  .

Over the years, competitors have developed for that business, include Pinnacle Systems, which makes the current crop of equipment used by CNBC. Pinnacle was a publicly traded company until its acquisition by Avid Technology in August 2005. It uses the term “deko” for the supers its machines generate, and therefore, so do we. And there you have it.

For those of you who may work here someday, don’t underestimate how much this may help you. When I first returned here earlier this year, someone asked me to make a deko. My response: “A what?” Now you won’t have to suffer my fate.