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 tanding
against the backdrop of 96 multimedia video screens that
form a digital information wall measuring 47 feet long and 16 feet
high, CNBC's Nasdaq correspondent Tom
Costello prepares for another midday market update.
As
he waits for his live broadcast to begin, he flips through his notes
and glances at the video screen behind him. Having already coordinated
with the Nasdaq Market Site production team, the video screens display
the real time price quotes and trading volume for the stocks he
plans to discuss during his two-minute market update.
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CNBC's
Tom Costello updates investors on Palm, Inc.'s initial public
offering.
PHOTO:
Mark Valenta
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Costello
is the chief correspondent for CNBC
at the Nasdaq Market Site. He files 10 to 15 market updates during
the trading day from the street-level site.
Starting with the pre-open market updates on the morning broadcast
of "Squawk Box" to the closing stock recaps on "Market Wrap," Costello
utilizes the virtual exchange created by Nasdaq in lieu of the stock
traders and specialists that his colleague at CNBC, Bob Pisani,
uses at the New York Stock Exchange.
"Since this is an electronic exchange, I don't have that option,"
says Costello. "Whereas Bob [Pisani] can go down and talk to the
traders himself, I am limited to the sourcing that I do on the phone
or through e-mail."
The challenge for reporters covering the Nasdaq is to use the technology
at the new $34 million Times Square Market Site to illustrate the
movements in stock prices. Correspondents from CNBC, CNN, MSNBC
and Bloomberg all strive
to provide context and perspective in their stories.
In
such a dynamic setting as the stock market, the story is constantly
changing. "It's up to the minute type of coverage," says Sasha Salama,
CNN anchor and Nasdaq correspondent.
"I work the phones and talk to sources, check my e-mail for stock
upgrades or downgrades from brokerage firms and check Web sites.
But when it's time for broadcast — I simply ad lib."
Salama and her fellow correspondents must be able to think quickly
and provide timely updates when the cameras go live. Though she
has her notes, Salama says she stares at a camera and has no TelePrompTer
feeding her copy. The markets change so fast that if she did write
a script — it would be outdated in just minutes.
"This is the second largest [stock] market in the world in terms
of market cap," says Costello, "and it has double the volume of
the NYSE. This is the wave of the future — the floor model
is the thing of the past."
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