Charles Payne says financial ‘information boom’ can induce shock, fear from investors
Payne reflecting on Fox Business impact on marketplace as it celebrates 15 years on the air
FOX Business team rings the Nasdaq opening bell as the business network celebrates 15 years.
Fox Business Network celebrated its 15th anniversary last week, forever changing the way business news is consumed as the launch of FBN coincided with the ability for investors to educate themselves on social media.
"There's definitely been an information boom," FBN host Charles Payne told Fox News Digital.
"There's a race to get out the information. There's also a race for eyeballs," he continued, adding "in some respects, financial media in general has made it tougher for investors" due to having so much information available on their phones.
FBN launched on October 15, 2007, one year after Twitter went live and Facebook was made accessible to the general public. Payne said modern investors see things they wouldn’t have seen in previous eras, often inducing shock or fear, but they also have more ways to find context.
Modern investors have more information available than previous generations. ((Photo by Steven Ferdman/Getty Images))
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"You know, the market's down, there's a lot of red on the screen and you really feel panicky. You know, it's easy to look at your cell phone and then you turn on the TV to get more granular in the story," he said.
Payne believes the result of all the information is often sensationalism, particularly when news is negative.
"I think it gets magnified and, you know, it catches eyeballs just like people rubberneck a crash on the highway. And, you know, it's hard not to look, you go by and you see the remnants of two cars and, there's an ambulance or someone's being carried away on a stretcher. You're like, ‘Oh, man, golly,’" Payne said.
"Same thing," he continued. "That’s your portfolio."
The "Making Money" host also feels the "explosion of information" has helped sensationalize and overemphasize the down periods, which happen naturally in market cycles.
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"The other times are significantly greater and more profitable," Payne said.
The upside to the information boom, according to Payne, is that investors have the power to easily educate themselves. Payne said it’s "phenomenal" that all modern investors can get information that only Wall Street had access to not too long ago.
"It's just really remarkable. What's beautiful about it, is investors are going in, they're getting in chat rooms and they're saying, ‘Hey, I did due diligence on this and I saw that,’" he said.
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"Some things they don't know, they work together as a group to try to figure it out. And, you know, one thing I know specifically, at least for my shows, I tried to be an extension of that education process."
Fox Business Network President Lauren Petterson and many of the network's stars – including Payne – celebrated FBN's 15th anniversary by ringing the NASDAQ opening bell last Friday.
Earlier this month, Fox Business announced the return of its popular programming lineup, FBN Prime, that will continue to celebrate success stories across key American industries.
"Making Money with Charles Payne" airs weekdays at 2 p.m. ET on Fox Business.