And now, owner GE is rewarding them with … budget cuts!

Bosses at CNBC, The Observer has learned, are now preparing to scale back budgets. Sources inside CNBC have heard that the figure could approach a 10 percent overall budget cut.

“We’re committed to having the best team in business news worldwide,” said CNBC spokesman Kevin Goldman.

In recent years, NBC’s shift from the analog to the digital era has resulted in a range of money-saving maneuvers, particularly at MSNBC and NBC News.

But until now CNBC has largely avoided the machete. Last year, for instance, the cable business channel was reportedly exempted from the cuts thanks to the nascent competition from the newly launched Fox Business Network.

Over the past year, CNBC has enjoyed steady ratings dominance over their competitors at Fox Business. But the downside of CNBC’s competitive success is that it has apparently brought their budget back into play. The move doesn’t surprise many longtime observers of the NBC landscape. “It’s only logical that after cut after cut at NBC News and MSNBC that CNBC would eventually have to come to the table,” said one TV insider.

Back in October, NBC Universal chief Jeff Zucker sent an e-mail to employees, informing them that roughly $500 million, or roughly 3 percent of the budget, would be cut across the company, focusing on “reductions in promotion expenses; in discretionary spending, such as travel and entertainment and outside consultants; and in staffing costs.”

Whether “staffing costs” are among those that will have to be implemented at CNBC remains to be seen.

Meanwhile, serious changes are rumored to be afoot for NBC News’ investigative unit led by senior correspondent Lisa Myers and senior producer Jim Popkin.

The unit is based in Washington, D.C. On Friday, Nov. 7, TVNewser reported that Washington bureau chief Mark Whitaker was encouraging D.C. staffers to take buyout offers, which, according to their source, had been offered to “virtually everyone” in the bureau.

Will the buyouts affect the investigative team moving forward?

“Our commitment to investigative journalism remains as strong as ever,” NBC News spokesperson Allison Gollust said. “We aren’t looking to make any changes there. We’re not planning to make any changes to personnel.”

fgillette@observer.com

"Happy Hour is a dynamic show that takes the headlines and market reactions and turns them into useful and intelligent information," said Mr. Bolling in a press release. "I am excited to take on this new role as co-host."

Presumably, Mr. Bolling will also be excited to interview the wide range of business leaders who appear on the show. Past guests have included skateboarding legend Tony Hawk and porn star Savannah Samson.

Last time we wrote about Mr. Bolling, a high-rolling commodities trader-turned-charismatic talking head, he was battling in court to get out of his contract with CNBC and, um, sending emails to the wrong Kevin (see second item).

But amid the current financial panic, FBN is hoping to win over some viewers by running a political-style attack-ad knocking the record of CNBC's Jim Cramer.

"Financially, these are crazy times," warns a scary voiceover in the ads. "The last thing you need is bad advice. The last thing you need is CNBC's Jim Cramer."

According to Mr. Kurtz the numbers to date remain far behind competitor CNBC.

"Fox News executives knew it would be a long, uphill battle to challenge CNBC when they launched a new business channel last October -- and new ratings confirm that they are right," writes Mr. Kurtz.

More from the article:

So, what's the next move, Rupert?

But the whole deal is a tricky one. The Journal still has an agreement with CNBC that runs through 2012, and it's a contract that might prevent Journalists from appearing too regularly on FBN.

So how many more of those breaking news and nonbusiness news people can they pluck away?

"Oh, I think they'll build each other, they'll help each other," he said. "You know, at the moment, there's a standing agreement with our competition, but that will run down or run out and we'll be able to put the two together more and more."

Mr. Murdoch was referring to The Journal's content-sharing partnership with rival CNBC, which--barring some major renegotiating or legal wrangling--won't run out until 2012.

In the meantime, Mr. Murdoch said the new channel was "going well." "I don't know Roger's -- Roger Ailes' -- latest projections," said he said. "But it's going to be three or four years to get the distribution that it took us seven years to get with FOX News."

"This guy is famous in Ohio," said Mr. Philbin, oddly.

NYTV moved in and shook hands.

Mr. Ailes asked good-naturedly if NYTV had written anything critical of Fox or Mr. Philbin, recently. Mr. Philbin fielded the question. "He writes something critical of me," said Mr. Philbin, "at least once a month." An exaggeration!

Everyone smiled.

We were there to celebrate the launch of Rupert Murdoch's latest media venture—the Fox Business Network. And so, a few feet away, alongside a makeshift bar, Mel Brooks was struggling to get Mr. Murdoch's attention. He had taken a bad angle. Only Mr. Murdoch's back was available. Mr. Brooks waited patiently. At last, the Media Mogul from Down Under shifted positions. Mr. Brooks moved in and put his hand around the back of Mr. Murdoch's head. "Congratulations," said Mr. Brooks.

He wasnt alone. In the large space surrounding the Temple of Dendur, (lit up festively in orange and blue lights for the occasion) a crowd of media, television, and business elites slurped down drinks, and formed a congratulatory conga line, leading up to Mr. Murdoch near the bar.

Nearby, Harvey Weinstein eyed the room. Oscar De La Renta kissed a woman on her cheek. New Fox star Alexis Glick circulated, shaking hands. Lloyd Grove hovered.

Half an hour later, Mr. Ailes, sporting a dark suit and a red tie with white slanted stripes, took the stage.

"Some of you are wondering why we are in the Temple of Dendur," said Mr. Ailes. "So am I. Actually the temple was built in 15 BC by Emperor Augustus of Rome, sort of the Rupert Murdoch of his day. I said to Rupert, we're having an opening party at the Temple of Dendur. He said, Good I like that place. Is it for sale?"

The crowd chuckled.

"Rupert Murdoch is so casual. One day he said to me, you know CNBC needs competition," recalled Mr. Ailes. "I said, uh oh, here we go. Because I was around when he said CNN needed some competition. And I was around when he said, I really like The Wall Street Journal, it's a great paper. So if you're ever around Rupert and you hear these kind of casual comments, pretend you don't hear them because otherwise you're going to be working very hard."

Mr. Ailes then ceded the spotlight to Mr. Murdoch, calling him the "greatest media visionary of all time."

Mr. Murdoch, dressed in a pin striped suit, and a dark necktie with white dots, stepped to the podium. "It's been a brilliant first nine days," said Mr. Murdoch. "It's been distinctive, it's been informative, it's been noisy. It's business news that grabs your attention and keeps it, whether you're a CEO or a small business owner. That's the brilliance of Roger Ailes."

Mr. Murdoch spoke optimistically of the "triumphs of the free markets" on a global scale."“In this country we have the best-run, the most corruption-free companies in the world," he said. "Our companies have the kind of success and variety that the rest of the world looks to. Not that you would know that from much of the business coverage we see every day."

He said that the Fox Business Network would cover the "scandals and failures," that would come along now and then and would be "just as tough as anyone protecting investors."

"But my hope for Fox Business is that it will also find time to celebrate the freedom and sense of optimism and daring that free markets have given Americans."

The crowd applauded, and the party continued.

Around 8:30 or so, the Counting Crows took the stage. As they wailed through their first song, NYTV chatted with Cody Willard and Rebecca Gomez, hosts of Fox Business Network's evening talk show, Happy Hour, set in the Bull and Bear bar at the Waldorf Astoria.

The Counting Crows weren't the shaggy-haired Mr. Willard's scene. Instead, he launched into a story about seeing Kiss in concert. Twice, said Mr. Willard, he had dressed up as Gene Simmons for Halloween.

He said he was having a great time at the party. "I love the fact that you see a huge sign for Fox Business in front of the Egyptian temple. That puts some perspective on what the vision is, right? You have the greatest empire of all time, the Egyptian empire…" He paused. "What's the name of this place?"

Um, the Temple of Dendur.

Mr. Willard continued, unfazed. "That's what the vision is here," said Mr. Willard. "We're trying to take over the world."

He leaned back and smiled. "We’re trying to take over the world!"

Well, in any case, it’s several thousand miles from Wall Street. And on Friday, CNBC's Fast Money with Dylan Ratigan will be broadcasting live from the Computer History Museum in San Jose, CNBC announced today. The cross-country brand extension, according to a CNBC press release, is part of a broader "cradle of innovation tour." No word yet on how the Fox Business Network, which had suggested it plans to position itself as Main Street to CNBC's Wall Street,might counter.

Although, the front lawn of, say, the Computer History Association of California, must look mighty tempting right about now.

“There’s a lot of government-looking kind of buildings, I think we heard a cow mooing in the distance,” she said. “But it’s hunting season, as we noted earlier, out here in Englewood Cliffs, and I heard the peacocks are in season.”

It’s clear that in launching FBN, Rupert Murdoch has trained his sights on the well-primped tail feathers of CNBC. But judging from its first day, for Roger Ailes and company, the real big game appears to be big government, not big media.

At one point, reporting from Washington, D.C., correspondent Adam Shapiro explained how federal earmarks to study shrimp and catfish showed that government spending has gotten out of hand. “Not that I have anything against shrimp and catfish,” Mr. Shapiro hastened to add. “Good-tasting stuff … but that’s how these things grow.”

Soon, the new network pulled out the big gun of economic conservatism: Grover Norquist.

For the next several minutes, Mr. Norquist—the right-wing activist who once gleefully announced he’d like to get government down to a size where it could be drowned in a bathtub—explained to FBN viewers how the various Democratic presidential candidates were likely to threaten the livelihood of Americans of all classes by repealing President Bush’s tax cuts and further increasing federal spending.

“Obviously both Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and Edwards are talking about spending perhaps two trillion dollars,” he said. “Not just the one trillion on health care, but they’ve made a number of promises in addition to that.”

In recent months, much has been made of Mr. Murdoch’s assertion that while CNBC is geared towards Wall Street, FBN would appeal to Main Street.

But lately, FBN executives have tweaked that claim, suggesting that FBN will seek to appeal to both camps.

How to pull it off?

On day one of FBN, a large part of the answer seemed to be constantly stoking the threat of higher taxes and runaway spending—a threat, after all, that should concern Wall Street brokers and Main Street business owners alike. In the months to come, look for Runaway Government to play a similar role on FBN to the one that Runaway Liberalism plays on the Fox News Channel—that is, as the sinister common enemy around which the audience can rally.

But rallying the pin-striped masses also requires on-air talent, as Mr. Ailes understands. Early on, Alexis Glick, the former CNBC and Today show contributor turned FBN business news director and morning anchor, shone. The leggy former New York City high-school basketball star lit up the morning set, injecting her winsome sports fandom into programming across the slate, including a segment called “Stocks and Jocks” (in which guest analysts debated who would make a better CEO, Bill Belichick or Tony Dungy) and an oddly entertaining interview with New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft about his $5 million gift to the anemic Columbia University football program.

Elsewhere in the lineup, Cody Willard, the long-locked co-host of FBN’s boozy evening banterfest Happy Hour, was already attracting the attention of competitors. Last night, MSNBC’s Dan Abrams devoted his Beat the Press segment to mocking Mr. Willard. “The Fox Business Channel started today,” said Mr. Abrams. “And you know what? They’re just really cool. You know, like Real World and like Beavis and Butt-Head. Cool.” Abrams followed up with a clip of Maroon 5-ish–vibing Mr. Willard touting his “famous” one-liners. “Rock ’n’ roll,” added Mr. Abrams, dryly. “Yeah!”

But throughout the day on FBN, the big bad faceless Feds remained the most reliable targets. A few hours after her peacock-hunting excursion, Ms. MacDonald was back in FBN’s Manhattan studios, across from anchor Connell McShane, weighing in on … the dangers of big government.

“President Reagan once said that the closest thing to immortality is a government program,” said Ms. MacDonald. “It’s a super-size-me government going on, and I think it’s a problem.” As if viewers might not have gotten the message, she added: “Pat Buchanan said, ‘Like Thelma and Louise, Social Security and Medicare are heading right for that cliff, and taxpayers are in the back seat.’”

The implication: Fox will put you in front.