Thursday, January 10, 2008

Ms. "$$$ I Love You for You $$$" in Hot Water



Erin Burnett's bosses aren't happy. Apparently her frank interview with Men's Health magazine wasn't taken well.

In the interview, Erin listed her Top 8 ways that men could impress her, which basically boiled down to, spend, spend, spend on me fellas. In an earlier post (see http://kerijam.blogspot.com/2008/01/i-love-you-for-you.html), I said that it seemed like Erin's only two requirements for future suitors were 1) significant wealth and 2) sex = male. Media outlets and her bosses have been less kind.

For more on the Erin backlash, see the following excerpt from today's NY Post:


CNBC Unimpressed with Erin

MARIA Bartiromo's CNBC rival, Erin Burnett, is doing her share to roil the cable business network.

Sources tell Page Six that Burnett, known as the "Street Sweetie," has network suits in an uproar over the narcissistic, money-grubbing feature she penned for Men's Health, titled "Eight Things That Would Impress Me" - with bosses worried it could hurt her and the station's serious news image.

In the jaw-dropping piece, first revealed on this page Monday, Burnett says guys can "unlock" her heart by giving her round-trip, business-class tickets to Australia and New Zealand, sending a yoga instructor and personal chef to her apartment, and treating her and her sisters to a long-weekend spa getaway, among other suggestions.

"This has caused a lot of hand-wringing at the network," an insider told us, suggesting Burnett comes off as a trite, gold-digging hussy. "There's worry she's damaged her brand. Everybody's talking about it and asking, like, 'Why did you do this?' Everybody think it's a major [bleep]-up.' "

A mention of the article on Dealbreaker.com ridiculed it as, "Map to Erin Burnett's [Bleep]." The site later substituted the word "heart" for the vulgarism. "The newsroom was talking about 'Erin Burnett's [bleep].' You've got to wonder who gave her the idea for this story," our source said.

Burnett, who's been dubbed "Maria 2.0" for her rivalry with "Money Honey" Bartiromo, wouldn't talk to us. CNBC flack Brian Steel refused to say whether Burnett's story set off an uproar, repeatedly telling us: "Erin is one of the most respected and insightful journalists on television today.

"It was a fun little piece," Steel said, adding that he had pre-approved Burnett's writing the article.

Burnett's boo-boo takes even more heat off Bartiromo, who last year survived an ethics scandal over globetrotting on Citigroup's private jet with its then-wealth-management chief Todd Thomson, who later got the ax. She also had animal-rights activists screeching for posing in a $3,695 Michael Kors wool coat and gushing about its fluffy fox-fur cuffs.

Our source said: "For the moment it looks like Maria's off the hook. Erin's the problem child now."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Why does this surprise anyone? Any woman that hot is interested in one thing, and one thing only, MONEY. I dont understand why guys get flak for seeking SEX, when women are just as single-minded in their own ways.