Who is Erin Isabelle Burnett? is an American business news anchor, reporter and interviewer. Beginning in June of 2011 she will be working for CNN television. [2] She was the co-anchor of CNBC's Squawk on the Street program and the host of CNBC's Street Signs program. She also appeared on NBC's Meet the Press, Today, MSNBC's Morning Joe, and NBC Nightly News, as well as occasional appearances on The Apprentice as an advisor to Donald Trump. She is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.Burnett has hosted a number of documentaries filmed outside of the United States: "India Rising: The New Empire",[3] "The Russian Gamble", and "Dollars & Danger: Africa, The Final Investment Frontier.[4] She has focused extensively on the Middle East as well, reporting live from across the region and hosting documentaries including: "On Assignment: Iraq", "Big Money & the Middle East", "City of Money and Mystery" and "The Forbidden Zone".
Personal life
Burnett was born 1976 and raised in Mardela Springs, Maryland. She attended St. Andrew's School in Middletown, Delaware, graduating in 1994.[5] Burnett later attended Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.[6][7]At Williams College she studied political science and economics, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in political economy. As an undergraduate, she played lacrosse and field hockey for the Ephs.
Career
Burnett began her career as a financial analyst for Goldman Sachs[8] in their investment banking division, where she worked on mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance.
While working as an investment-banking analyst, Burnett was offered a position at CNN as a writer and booker for CNN's Moneyline with Stuart Varney, Willow Bay, and Lou Dobbs.[9]From CNN, she moved to Citigroup, where she served as vice president for Citigroup/CitiMedia, and was responsible for all anchoring of the Citigroup online financial news network.[9]
Burnett accepted a position in 2003 with Bloomberg Television, where she was the anchor of Bloomberg on the Markets, covering the stock market open and newsmaker interviews, and In Focus, where she broke down the day's top business story.
Burnett was the host of CNBC's Street Signs and co-anchor of Squawk on the Street from 2005 to 2011. Since making her debut on Squawk in December 2005, the program's ratings are up 142% over first quarter 2006 in adults 25–54; while Street Signs is up 57% in the adults 25–54 demographic.[10] On May 6, 2011 she left CNBC after 5 1/2 years.[11] She was hired by CNN as an anchor of a weekday general news program, yet to be announced, working out of the cable network's New York headquarters. Burnett will start in June 2011 as a contributor to CNN's coverage of national and international breaking news with her new show launching in the summer of 2011. [12]On May 24, 2009, Burnett gave the commencement speech at her alma mater, St. Andrew's School.[13][14]
On December 7, 2010, Burnett did an investigative report on chemical giant Transammonia[15] doing business in Iran. In the report, Erin Burnett reported that a Transammonia subsidiary—100% owned by Transammonia in the United States—purchases ammonia from Iran. In the same report, Burnett said according to an economic plan released by the Iranian government, Iran is trying to increase ammonia production by 60 percent in the next five years. She also mentioned that ammonia is used for explosives, including roadside bombs in Afghanistan. On Dec. 13, 2010, as a result of the CNBC report, Transammonia sent a press release to Congressional leaders that Transammonia's Swiss subsidiary will not enter into new contracts with Iranian companies and wind down its business with Iran "as soon as possible."[16]
Host shows
- Street Signs (2005–2011)
- Squawk on the Street (2005–2011)
- Bloomberg on the Markets (2003–2005)
Controversial comments
During an August 10, 2007 appearance on the MSNBC program Hardball with Chris Matthews, Burnett commented on recalls of Chinese-made goods, stating that "people should be careful what they wish for on China" and that the production of "toys that don't have lead in them or food that isn't poisonous" would lead to higher prices in the United States.[17] Burnett's commentary was criticized by satirist Jon Stewart on the August 16 edition of The Daily Show.[18] Burnett addressed the controversy during an August 17 Hardball appearance, stressing that she did not "[want] children to play with toys that are not safe".[19]
On August 5, 2009, Burnett reported on the Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's plans to spend millions of dollars on aerial shooting to cull Australian feral camels in the outback.[20] Her comments, which included a reference to Rudd as a "serial killer", were reported by the Australian media[21] and other international news services.[22][23][24] Burnett stated on an August 6 show that she was making a joke.[2
