Web Petition Asks People to Help “Fix CNBC”

With the headline, “Jon Stewart made the case, now we’re taking action,” a new web movement intends to get NBC’s business channel CNBC to “publicly declare that its new overriding mission will be responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable.”

Users are asked to sign a petition on FixCNBC.com. The site is paid for by a PAC called Progressive Change Campaign Committee. When FixCNBC gets 5,000 signatures, the open letter (after the jump) will be sent to the network’s president Mark Hoffman.

So far the petition has been signed by 136 people including DailyKos.com founder Markos Moulitsas, journalism professor Eric Alterman and Eric Burns, president of Media Matters.

Dear CNBC —

“You knew what the banks were doing, and yet were touting it for months and months. The entire network was.” – Jon Stewart

These now-legendary words were a wake-up call. We’re asking you to wake up.

Americans need CNBC to do strong, watchdog journalism — asking tough questions to Wall Street, debunking lies, and reporting the truth. Instead, CNBC has done PR for Wall Street. You’ve been so obsessed with getting “access” to failed CEOs that you willfully passed on misinformation to the public for years, helping to get us into the economic crisis we face today.

You screwed up badly. Don’t apologize – fix it!

CNBC should publicly declare that its new overriding mission will be responsible journalism that holds Wall Street accountable. As a down payment, we ask you to hire some new economic voices — people who have a track record of being right about the economic crisis and holding Wall Street executives’ feet to the fire.

Please show us that you hear our voices loud and clear.

Sincerely,

Join Baratunde Thurston (left), The Onion’s Director of Digital and author of How to Be Black, for an entertaining look at creative social media campaigns in our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting February 16. Other speakers include Morin Oluwole (Facebook), Tim Devane (bitly), and SocialTimes' writer Devon Glenn.   Register now.