Critics Cool to Frisky FBN

The market was down but Fox Business Network was aggressively upbeat in its debut yesterday, reviewers noted. The New York Times'  Alessandra Stanley made fun of the network's "giggly" mood and said it comes off as "a blend of CNBC and a fifth hour of the 'Today' show." Time's Justin Fox called it "politically slanted" but "not bad," noting the business coverage "was pretty straight, and was probably more comprehensible to non-market-geeks than most of what you'll see on CNBC."

The Guardian found it "bright, breezy and just a touch breathless," noting that the first day out included a lengthy interview with Times Square's infamous naked cowboy and a truncated  one with Hillary Clinton. Reuters reports that most critics were lukewarm to the new offering— "I don't think this will change the entire landscape of American TV as we know it," a media professor says dryly—adding that Fox News didn't win acclaim for its first day either. (More Fox Business Network stories.)