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(Originally published 12/5/2018. Last updated 4/7/2026 with revised copy.)
After nearly 1.4 years of collected data, we determined that CNBC (cnbc.com) has a strong negative media bias, regardless of day-to-day market performance or the relative strength of the economy. The Wall Street Journal (wsj.com), while not nearly as negative, also exhibits somewhat contrarian reporting.
You would expect financial media to correlate with the overall market. They report on the financial markets, after all. But we have long suspected that some outlets, CNBC in particular, lean toward negative stories regardless of what the market is actually doing. So rather than making assumptions, we started collecting data.
Since March 2018, we tracked the daily headlines of both CNBC and the Wall Street Journal 30 minutes after the market close (1:30 PM PT). If the headline was positive, we scored it +1. Negative, -1. Neutral, 0. Here are examples of each:
| Positive (+1) | Neutral (0) | Negative (-1) |
|---|---|---|
“Dow jumps nearly 300 points to a record high, gains 2% for the week” | “Stocks Little Changed With Tech Sector In Focus” | “CDC chief warns the U.S. headed for ‘impending doom’ as COVID cases rise again: ‘Right now I’m scared’” |
To compare these headlines with market performance, we assigned the S&P 500 daily return the same absolute score (+1, 0, -1) and created an index for each source to track over time. Note that there are data gaps due to market holidays and other lapses. We only included data points when all three sources were available.
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Since tracking the daily headlines (n=508), CNBC has shown only a 28% correlation to the S&P 500. The Wall Street Journal came in at 57%. The total absolute sum of CNBC’s index sits at -109.
CNBC: Beware What You Consume
The financial news you consume matters more than most people realize. When it comes to managing your investments, having the right frame of mind is the single most important factor. Any investment professional worth their salt will tell you this.
Behavioral finance teaches us that humans are prone to costly investing mistakes. Chief among them is abandoning a long-term financial plan when fear is high, or chasing the tempting riches of actively trading securities. CNBC, and others like it, make this worse by publishing negative headlines that blow things out of proportion and encourage their audience to trade often.
We pulled the keywords from each headline to visualize the bias. WSJ uses more positive words like “ease,” “strong,” and “rise.” CNBC favors “fall,” “drops,” “hikes,” and “plunges.”
CNBC Wordcloud
Wall Street Journal Wordcloud
Does this mean you should avoid CNBC entirely? No. They bring on great guests and are hard to beat for breaking news. They are the largest financial news outlet in the country, and avoiding them completely is not realistic. It just means you should be aware of the lens they are filtering through.
If you want financial news with less bias, I personally favor Reuters and the Wall Street Journal. For political bias across all media, AllSides is an excellent resource.
Political Bias
Financial news sites also carry political bias. A study published in the Journal of Financial Economics found that the Wall Street Journal has a conservative lean, while the New York Times has a liberal lean. This matters because political framing influences how market events are reported and what conclusions readers are encouraged to draw.
Urgency Bias
CNBC has a strong structural bias toward urgency, drama, and conflict. This makes sense. It is a cable business channel that has optimized itself over the years to keep you watching. Every market move needs an explanation. Every explanation needs a guest to predict what happens next.
Research shows that financial television affects trading behavior. And increased trading does not increase returns. CNBC is great at reporting what just happened. It is not great at helping you decide what to do about it. Treat it as entertainment, not advice.
The Bottom Line
The best financial decisions are made with a clear head, a long-term plan, and a disciplined approach to investing. Not by reacting to whatever headline CNBC runs at 1:30 PM. If you feel yourself getting pulled into the noise, that is a sign you need a better framework, not more information.
We built Bull Oak around this idea. Our investment approach is rules-based and evidence-driven. We help clients tune out the noise and stay focused on what actually moves the needle: tax-efficient planning, disciplined portfolio management, and a clear path to retirement.
If you are looking for a fee-only financial advisor who will never sell you a product or tell you to panic, see if we’re a good fit.
