Orman bridles at the contention that the ads compromised her integrity. They were, she says, just another way to provide people with financial advice. Besides, she's not journalist."I have now become a celebrity," she said. "Whether the reporters who have bashed me for years want to believe it, Suze Orman has become . . . somebody that America has embraced." And, as such, she says she should be held to the same standard as other celebrities who endorse products.
Whether she's a celebrity or journalist or both, there is no doubt that Orman has a wide following as a financial expert. Her first two books of financial advice sold 3 million copies, according to Publishers Weekly; four of her eight books have become New York Times bestsellers. She's been profiled in innumerable newspapers and magazines, and is a contributing editor to O, The Oprah Magazine.Her CNBC show reaches an average of 120,000 viewers.
"It raised a lot of eyebrows around here when we first saw the GM commercials," said one CNBC staffer. "Clearly it's not something that in general we would be able to do." The guidelines do not apply to Orman, explained CNBC spokeswoman Amy Zelvin, because Orman owns her show, and CNBC pays her a license fee to air it. "Suze Orman appears on CNBC as an expert commentator," Zelvin said. "She is not an employee of CNBC and she is not a journalist. As such, she is able and permitted to pursue outside business ventures."
But CNBC's Web site suggests otherwise: Orman is listed as the network's "personal finance editor," a title that suggests both employment and journalistic decision-making. "I recently resigned from that position," Orman explained. "When all this started with the GM thing, I called up [CNBC Enterprises general manager] Bob Meyers. I said 'Bob, this is ridiculous.' I don't do anything as personal finance editor. It was an empty title really. Why even have it?" Orman said she retired the title sometime in late November, and that she had been personal finance editor for about three years. Zelvin, who expressed surprise when informed of the title, said: "We should have been clearer that she's a commentator and not a journalist." (At press time, CNBC's Web site still identified Orman as personal finance editor on the site's "Anchors and Reporters" page.)
Earlier conflicts noted The GM deal is not the first Orman product promotion. Among the dozens of books and self-help kits she sells on her Web site is the Suze Orman FICO Kit, a $49.95 software package that lets purchasers buy their Fair Isaac credit Three years ago, Orman briefly sold long-term care policies on QVC and her site. The fact that Orman earned a commission off sales and that the policies were underwritten by a division of General Electric, which owns CNBC, caused a squall of press criticism that led her to abandon the project. Orman said such criticism is unfair. Why, she asked, does nobody question the motives of Meredith Vieira of "The View"-a show that Orman frequents when selling her books-for appearing in ads for Bayer aspirin? Or put another way, how much integrity does a celebrity need?"
