Cnbc and the Discourses of Financialization
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The Pennsylvania State University The Graduate School College of Communications SHAPING THE MARKET: CNBC AND THE DISCOURSES OF FINANCIALIZATION A Dissertation in Mass Communications by Aaron Heresco 2014 Aaron Heresco Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy August 2014 The dissertation of Aaron J. Heresco was reviewed and approved* by the following: Matthew Jordan Associate Professor of Media Studies Dissertation Adviser Chair of Committee Matthew McAllister Assistant Graduate Program Chair / Professor, Media Studies Michael Elavsky Associate Professor of Media Studies Alan Sica Professor of Sociology Marie Hardin Dean, College of Communications *Signatures are on file in the Graduate School ii Abstract This research examines the discursive construction of financialization and financial markets as represented on the cable network CNBC. Following the financial crisis of 2008, discourses of an about finance became legible throughout the social body. From calls for austerity to understandings of the range of social and political possibles, financial markets were an increasingly important cultural force. Financial markets, however, are neither natural nor inevitable, and an analysis of the ways in which these markets and their participants are constituted enlists the Consumer News and Business Channel (CNBC) as a critical site in the cultural circuit of finance capitalism. How CNBC functions as both a financial entity in its own right, as well as a site of discursive production and distribution about finance, positions the network as an important site for the study of financial discourses. A critical discourse analysis of CNBC content highlighted a number of themes regarding market discourses: namely pertaining to ludo-finance, a financial pedagogy, new spatial and temporal social conceptions, and a ritualistic and religious attitude toward financial markets. Thinking through the implications of financial representations will only become more important as the institutions and discourses of finance increasingly structure the cultural, social, and political world. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS List of Figures ………………………………………………………………………………...v Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................................ 1 Chapter 2: Financialization – CNBC in its Time and Place ..................................................... 28 Chapter 3: Financialization – A Cultural View ....................................................................... 48 Chapter 4: CNBC and the Basics of Cable Television ........................................................... 79 Chapter 5: Ludo-Finance: Playing the Money Game .............................................................. 116 Chapter 6: How to Be a Financialized You: CNBC and the Pedagogy of Finance ................ 141 Chapter 7: The Ideology of the Screen: CNBC and the Space and Time of the Market ........ 173 Chapter 8: CNBC and the Ritual and Religion of Financialization ......................................... 221 Chapter 9: Conclusion - Unwinding the Position .................................................................... 254 References …………………………………………………………………………………... 261 iv List of Figures Figure 1: Source - Bureau of Economic Analysis Gross Domestic Product by Industry Data ................... 37 Figure 2: Source - Bureau of Economic Analysis, Gross Domestic Product by Industry Data ................. 37 Figure 3: Source - Bureau of Economic Analysis ....................................................................................... 39 Figure 4: Chart Reproduced from(Kasriel, 2005) ....................................................................................... 45 Figure 5: Source – Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System .................................................... 45 Figure 6: Source – Federal Reserve Flow of Funds Accounts .................................................................... 46 Figure 7: Power Lunch, May 10, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 121 Figure 8: Power Lunch, May 10, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 121 Figure 9: Power Lunch May 10, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 122 Figure 10: Power Lunch, May 10, 2012 ................................................................................................... 122 Figure 11: Fast Money, May 15, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 125 Figure 12: Mad Money, May 9, 2012 ....................................................................................................... 128 Figure 13: Mad Money, May 9, 2012 ....................................................................................................... 128 Figure 14: Mad Money, May 11, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 130 Figure 15: Mad Money, May 14, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 130 Figure 16: Fast Money, May 15, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 147 Figure 17: Suze Orman Show, July 29, 2012 ........................................................................................... 147 Figure 18: Suze Orman Show, July 29, 2012 ........................................................................................... 148 Figure 19: Suze Orman Show, July 29, 2012 ........................................................................................... 149 Figure 20: Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, May 9, 2012 ................................................................... 186 Figure 21 Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, May 9, 2012 .................................................................... 186 Figure 22: Power Lunch, May 9, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 190 Figure 23: Power Lunch, May 9, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 190 Figure 24: Power Lunch, May 9, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 191 Figure 25: Power Lunch, May 15, 2012 ................................................................................................... 193 Figure 26: Power Lunch, May 15, 2012 ................................................................................................... 193 Figure 27: Power Lunch, May 9, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 196 Figure 28: Power Lunch, May 9, 2012 ..................................................................................................... 196 Figure 29: CNBC Pro Web Page .............................................................................................................. 197 Figure 30: Flash Crash Timeline, (Farrell, 2013) ..................................................................................... 203 Figure 31: Power Lunch, May 14, 2012 ................................................................................................... 210 Figure 32: Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo, May 22, 2012 ................................................................. 210 Figure 33: Fast Money, May 14, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 212 Figure 34: Fast Money, May 14, 2012 ...................................................................................................... 212 Figure 35: Kudlow Report, May 10, 2012 ................................................................................................ 232 Figure 36: Kudlow Report, May 15, 2012 ................................................................................................ 237 Figure 37: Suze Orman Show, July 29, 2012 ........................................................................................... 241 Figure 38: Suze Orman Show, July 29, 2012 ........................................................................................... 244 v Chapter 1: Introduction The systems and institutions of capitalism that surround us can often seem entirely natural. From the idolization of risk-taking and entrepreneurship to the moral righteousness of working for a paycheck, the standards and practices of capitalism have wound themselves tightly around the American cultural imagination. Discussion of interest rates, refinancing, 401(k)'s, IRA's, college accounts, health savings accounts, and all manner of financial vehicles have taken up residence in the everyday conversations of American citizens. One is likely to hear everyone from plumbers to nurses talk about refinancing, as it is hard to consume media of any stripe without seeing various types of news about financial markets. Wall Street, whether lionized or vilified, has become less a geographic location in New York City than a representation of unrestrained capitalism and financial innovation. The Occupy movement, and backlashes against it, have helped situate financial firms and actors at the center of cultural and political practices