David Haffenreffer: 'Media and Entertainment Touch Each of Us Daily'
The anchor of CNNfn's "The Biz" says that in our media-saturated world, a TV program devoted to "the decisions and the decision-makers" in the media and entertainment industries is "vital."

By Patrick Phillips
I Want Media, 06/02/04

David Haffenreffer is the anchor of "The Biz," the CNNfn weekday roundup of business news in media and entertainment. The half-hour program offers interviews with celebrities and business figures in film, television, music, fashion and publishing -- ranging from the likes of Sean "P. Diddy" Combs and Melissa Joan Hart to Kurt Andersen and Sumner Redstone.

Haffenreffer, who also anchors CNNfn's financial news show "Money & Markets," previously hosted the syndicated personal finance program "Money Talks" and provided Reuters financial updates to WABC-TV. Prior to working at Reuters, he served as business news and financial markets anchor for Bloomberg Radio and Television.

Haffenreffer chatted with I Want Media about how CNN "made the most of it" when constructing the new CNN studios in the Time Warner Center, why Mel Karmazin is today's biggest media story, his favorite interview subjects on "The Biz," and more.

I Want Media: "The Biz," along with certain other shows on CNN networks, moved recently from Penn Plaza to new studios in the Time Warner Center. How are your new digs?

Haffenreffer: Our new home at Time Warner Center is great. During our initial tours of the new facility we were told that CNN had never before built studios from the ground up. Needless to say, they made the most of it. The set for "The Biz" looks right out over the southwestern corner of Central Park. The view looks so good it almost looks fake. Eugene Levy, the actor, was here the other day. After the interview he got up and remarked that it didn't even feel like he'd been on television. It was a nice compliment.

IWM: Now that you're closer to the "suits upstairs" in the Time Warner Center, does the proximity allow you any scoops of news about Time Warner?

Haffenreffer: We are definitely more apt to run into [chief executive] Richard Parsons and others in the elevators. But I think it's too soon to tell whether or not we'll be breaking any news due to our new closeness. It has fostered a new sense of camaraderie among the worker-bees, however. Eating lunch at the cafeteria provides opportunities to catch up with other reporters and producers who we only rarely saw in the old building.

IWM: What is your impression of the new Time Warner Center?

Haffenreffer: The new building is in a great part of town. If I was a runner, I could be in Central Park in 20 seconds from the front door. At this point I think most of the people in the shopping area are New Yorkers who are coming to see the newest piece of real estate in town. For tourists, CNN finally has an official tour of our new studios. I think it gets started this fall. We have a whole route for tours to peer into the studios to see how the place works.

IWM: What is "The Biz" about?

Haffenreffer: "The Biz" is a program about all the money and people who make Hollywood and the television, video game, theatrical, publishing and music industries work. I like to think of it as a financial "Entertainment Tonight."

IWM: How is "The Biz" different from other business news shows on cable?

Haffenreffer: Since we air right in the middle of the day [12:30 p.m. ET weekdays], we think of "The Biz" as a small break from the regular Wall Street and personal finance coverage that CNNfn has become known for. With that in mind, we lighten things up a bit and try to have some fun with our guests. We do that by booking big-name actors and musicians to come by for a lively conversation. It's fun for stars to do live television. Most of the time we see stars on TV, it's a taped show. This is live.

IWM: How is "The Biz" different from other shows covering the media, such as CNN's "Reliable Sources" and Fox News Channel's "Fox News Watch"?

Haffenreffer: While we often cover how a story was treated in the media, it isn't our primary mission. Howard Kurtz -- a periodic guest on "The Biz" -- and the team at "Reliable Sources" do a great job observing how and why different media outlets cover stories from different angles. While I do watch all the cable news channels in my free time, I have not seen "Fox News Watch."

IWM: What is the biggest story in media and entertainment right now?

Haffenreffer: It has to be Mel Karmazin. His surprise resignation from Viacom this week makes him the entertainment world's biggest free agent. There are reports that he didn't have a non-compete clause in his contract. That means that once he is finished working for Viacom, he is free to work for one of its direct competitors ... like Disney or Time Warner, GE or Fox. Until we find out where he's headed we'll spend a lot of time digging for details on this story.

IWM: Among the many guests you've interviewed, do you have any favorites?

Haffenreffer: Sumner Redstone of Viacom comes to mind. So does R.E.M.'s Michael Stipe, reality-show guru Mark Burnett, Donald Trump, Elmo and child-actress Dakota Fanning.

IWM: Why Sumner Redstone?

Haffenreffer: It's funny: In journalism school we learned to always consider who is talking and why are they talking. It often helps you get a better grip on the story. Mr. Redstone came on "The Biz" to talk about the expansion of MTV into China. This was interesting to me because he's an 80-year-old head of a major entertainment conglomerate coming to talk about the growth of one division. It truly revealed what kind of leader he is. He clearly cares about every little detail.

IWM: Who would you like to have on "The Biz" that you've been unable to get?

Haffenreffer: I think interviewing Disney's Michael Eisner would be fascinating. He's the longest-serving CEO of a Dow component company, and he's facing some very real challenges. He's not making himself available.

IWM: Has CNN founder Ted Turner ever been on "The Biz"?

Haffenreffer: No, but he's invited anytime. In fact, he walked through the newsroom the other day following the Time Warner board meeting. Unfortunately, I was looking down from a balcony and was unable to hear what he was saying. If he was on "The Biz," I would want to hear his thoughts on where he sees the world of all-news cable stations heading. I'm always interested to speak with a visionary like Mr. Turner.

IWM: If you could interview Time Warner chief Richard Parsons, what would you ask him?

Haffenreffer: He'd be another good "get." I would start by asking him where he'd like to take the company now that he's trimmed millions off its debt load. I often wonder whether a CEO of a company thinks the company stock price properly reflects where the company is today. I'd also ask him to give advice to the founders of Google, as they prepare to go public.

IWM: You report on the media and entertainment while working for the largest media and entertainment conglomerate in the world. Has that ever presented any conflicts?

Haffenreffer: It's never been a problem. If anything, I believe we're tougher on our own corporate parent to make sure people don't ever suspect we're going soft on those who sign our paychecks. And then there's the frequent disclaimer: "Time Warner is the parent company of CNNfn." When in doubt ... add it to the script.

IWM: Does "The Biz" ever make use of the resources of its Time Warner siblings, such as the Time Inc. magazines?

Haffenreffer: Absolutely. The wealth of talent here is invaluable. We've used reporters and editors from People, Entertainment Weekly, Real Simple ... There is no corporate mandate, however, to do that. As such we also have spoken to guests from The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek, Rolling Stone, Spin, Forbes, and many others.

IWM: What is in your media diet?

Haffenreffer: When I attended a journalism semester program at American University in Washington in 1989, we had the chance to meet ABC's Sam Donaldson. I asked him that very question, and he told our class that he first reads the Wall Street Journal cover to cover, and then scans the New York Times for any stories the Journal didn't have. In addition to that, I read USA Today and watch CNN's "American Morning" and "Good Morning America."

IWM: Why is coverage of the media and entertainment important?

Haffenreffer: Media and entertainment touch each and every one of us daily. Whether we pay $10 for a movie ticket or hear the ads play on our favorite radio station, we -- the consumers -- are the most important part of this equation. Corporations and advertisers spend billions of dollars to reach us. Having a program devoted to the decisions and the decision-makers in this business is vital. And fun.



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