Q&A with Rebecca Jarvis

CNBC’s Rebecca Jarvis has the most benign split personality on TV. The emerging-market and commodities correspondent refers to her buttoned-down, serious side as “Rebecca.” Her sunny, fun-loving side is “Becky.” Jarvis, twenty-five, can seem downright chipper even on the most bearish day for the NASDAQ, but she wasn’t very Becky when Donald Trump fired her during the finale of The Apprentice 4. It’s hard to say how placing so high on the Donald’s list has driven her success—she did graduate from Saint Paul Academy and the University of Chicago, after all. And Trump isn’t even her media role model; that distinction belongs to her mother, Gail MarksJarvis, a former financial columnist for the Pioneer Press who now writes for the Chicago Tribune. 

You auditioned for The Apprentice on a lark, right?
Exactly. I was twenty-three at the time. I had quit investment banking to go into reporting. And, frankly, the opportunities coming my way before the show are some of the same types of things coming my way afterward.

Why did you choose TV over print?
I had this motivation to try and be a part of the news media. And I like being able to combine the “Becky” side of my personality—just being a person on air and getting to tell the story with my voice. I thought that would be a lot of fun. And it is.

Who’s “Becky’s” audience? Day traders or Wall Street pros?
The short answer is that we draw our audience from everywhere. We have this tagline at CNBC that “We are America’s business channel,” and that is the case. We are the channel that traders have on all day long because they want to make sure they’re not missing a piece of economic news or an interview with somebody that is going to move markets.

A lot of companies don’t think they have much to gain from talking to the media. How do you get them to talk to you?
The biggest thing is credibility. What is the point of talking to someone who is going to misread what you tell them and mistell your story? There really isn’t one. That my background is in investment banking helps because a lot of what happens in the business world happens behind closed doors, and if you don’t have an appreciation for the things that take place there, you might be mystified by what is happening out in the open.

You’re hot. Does that make it easier to get people to talk to you?
Hmmm. It’s a good question. For me, I would hope that people are interested in hearing from me because I’m right. That’s my objective. My objective is to be the best reporter and to uncover the most tangible and responsible news that I can uncover. Beauty fades. I try to stay away from that, and anytime that comes into the conversation . . . 

Does a question like that piss you off?
No, I wouldn’t say that. I would say that my entire life has been built around  academic excellence. Striving to focus  on that side of things.

Is there any specific wisdom The Donald imparted?
It was a learning experience throughout. I got to see, in a really good way, how I communicate with people. Imagine watching yourself on camera doing your job. I bet you’d find a way to do it a lot better.

How does business reporting affect the management of your personal portfolio?
I don’t have one because CNBC does not allow it. I have a 401K.