It’s been quite a year, the last year in what some call the “‘aughts” or a “lost decade” that commenced with 9/11.
2010 was a year that saw devastation in Haiti, a disaster in the gulf, the rise of the Tea Party, an enormous ash cloud over Europe, the stunning rescue of Chilean miners, the chilling effect of Wikileaks — all capped off with the stock market at pre-Lehman levels.
For me, it was a year of being able to see all of that unfold from the anchor desk, reporting on a very, very, very rough first draft of history. Some of it will be read by my kids in textbooks. Most of it will just be forgotten tumblr posts that my mythical future kids will never read.
In case they do: here’s the year that was for me in snapshots and screengrabs that certainly won’t make any history books, but amusing nonetheless.
The iPhone picture that I took from the car on my first day to work
It was a big year for me personally — starting with a major move to New York City, where I joined the CNBC team with anchors I’ve always had a tremendous amount of respect for.
While the hours were an adjustment (starting at 4am my time), I was lucky to join the only global show on the network, “Worldwide Exchange” (that means it airs all over the world, starting at 9am in London and 4pm in Singapore).
So I hold down the US fort so to speak, reading the “fair value” of U.S. equity futures every once in a while during our 2-hour show. It looks funny, but basically it’s the difference between the first number and the second. So, for example, on this day, Dow futures were about 32 below fair value, NASDAQ futures were about 13 below fair value and S&P 500 futures were about 4 below fair value. It gets trickier when both are negative or postitive. Anyway, here’s to actually using high school math in “real life!”
Since I am the anchor of “North America,” I thought it was important for the show to cover all of the country — so the West Coast, too.
What resulted was a duking out between the current Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, and the former Mayor Richard Riordan. Riordan said the city was bankrupt; Villaraigosa said the opposite.
Even though I grew up in Los Angeles, going back as a reporter sent me to places you don’t ordinarily frequent as a local, but should, like the Port of Long Beach, a jaw-dropping site where most of the goods come into the States.
The “left coast” was also the origin of my business school series, I started it at UCLA; I’ve visited UPenn and NYU since then and will continue the series next year. With unemployment at 10%, I thought it was important to get a pulse check from those looking for a job when the big jobs numbers come out on the first Friday of every month.
On days that aren’t big economic data days, I got to have a little fun with investing in “alternatives” to the stock market:
Like seeing a personal cellar with 32k bottles of the finest wine!
And getting to try on the biggest bling I’ve ever seen!
On the weekends, I sometimes put on my consumer hat and join the legendary Today Show team that I grew up watching, breaking down complex stories like credit card rules and housing rules.
When the midterm elections rolled around, I took the show on the road to DC, also anchoring from our Capitol Hill studio the day Financial Regulation passed and during IMF meetings.
Midterms, of course, ended up being a big upset for the Dems. But historically, that’s what happens in midterms: the party of the president sees losses. And, historically, in the news business, we all pull double-duty. For me, it meant helping the powerhouse Larry Kudlow on his show.
But doing the first show and the last show on the network was a little unrealistic for, um, sleeping, eating and bathing. So, I was lucky to be asked to contribute to a show that was more up my alley hours-wise: the must-watch show for politicos, “Morning Joe,” on MSNBC.
I also tracked down some of my own politicos with a series I launched called “States of Pain” where I tried to get to the bottom of whether or not the U.S. State was going to fail. I traveled to interview five governors on their home turf, from Maine to Montana — where I spent the day with Governor Brian Schweitzer on his ranch without electricity or running water throwing knives, fishing, four-wheeling, and speaking Arabic in between talking fiscal matters.
I started another series in 2010 that will air next year called “Made in America.” So far, I’ve shot pieces with a couple CEOs, including one of my favorites- Fred DeLuca from Subway:
It might sound Pollyanna-ish, but I love my job. I am able to talk to CEOs and politicians on my show every day to get their take on the state of the economy and the world we live in. This year, I have been lucky enough to meet them in person by inviting them on set bright and early.
Some I bribed with breakfast — like legendary investor Jim Rogers:
Others were too tired to know they were in the shot checking their BlackBerry — like social entrepreneur Petra Nemcova:
But all, like Steve Forbes, were spot-on, thoughtful, gracious and debate-provoking — even at 5am:
And now to you. Yes, you. Thank you for following my adventures in 2010: The Year of Daydreaming (because there was no nighttime dreaming going on). Here’s to doing it again (and better) in 2011. I just hope I take more pictures and that you come along for the ride!
