CNBC is reporting on competitor Bloomberg over accusations Bloomberg journalists used the company’s data terminals to track and gain information on users, in some cases, government officials.

Both the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury Department are examining the extent Bloomberg terminal usage by top officials might have been tracked, CNBC’s Steve Liesman reports.

CNBC talked with a former Bloomberg employee who says he accessed usage information of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. He said he did it ”just for fun” and as a way “to show how powerful” the Bloomberg terminals were.

CNBC got a response from a Bloomberg spokesperson who said, “What you are reporting is untrue” but declined to respond when asked what specifically was inaccurate. He also would not say whether the company had investigated journalist access to the terminals.

Bloomberg CEO Dan Doctoroff released a statement saying, “Last month we changed our policy so that all reporters only have access to the same customer-relationship data available to our clients.” Doctoroff added: “reporters could not see news stories that clients read, or the securities they viewed.”

CNBC competes with Bloomberg in reporting and distributing business news on TV and online.

Erin Burnett flanked by her CNN bosses, EVP and managing editor Mark Whitaker, left, and EVP in charge of CNN Ken Jautz, right.

We’re thinking CNN’s Erin Burnett is eying a large Margarita when she gets of the air at 8pm tonight. Maybe during the show. Maybe right now.

Her premiere week — at least from where the critics stand — was not good. As for the ratings, more on that in a minute.

It was about :30 seconds, of a three minute story, in her (so far) four hours of programs on CNN. But if you printed out the criticism of Burnett’s coverage Monday from Occupy Wall Street, it could stretch from one end of Zuccotti Park to the other.

“Erin Burnett was way too dismissive and condescending of these protesters,” wrote Forbes’ Eric Jackson, who, 24 hours after posting his story, Tweeted that his take on Burnett was his 8th most popular story ever on Forbes.com.

The pile-on was swift.

• From the Baltimore Sun‘s David Zurawik: “Burnett’s problem runs much deeper from what I have seen — it runs straight through to the persona, if not the person herself.”

• Variety‘s Brian Lowery writes: “Burnett does appear to have been a terrible choice for her new role, on a program oddly titled ‘Erin Burnett OutFront.’ Out front of what, exactly?”

• Salon’s Glenn Greenwald called Burnett, a “spokesperson for Wall Street; it’s basically what her ‘journalistic’ career is.”

• Huffington Post’s Jason Linkins calls the coverage, “A Primer In Media Failure.”

After all the criticism Atlantic Wire‘s Adam Clarke Estes got this statement from CNN: “We support Erin and the OutFront team and we respect that there will be a range of opinions on any given story.”

Burnett and crew couldn’t even catch a break on the title of segment they like to call “Seriously!” Watch this NYMag.com clip for more on that. MediaMatters thinks Burnett should apologize.

Don’t count on it. We hear the plan is full-steam ahead; taking pride in what else happened during her debut week: interviews with Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner; talking politics with GOP presidential candidate Jon Huntsman and women’s health issues with model Christy Turlington.

As for those ratings…

Read more

After this morning’s GMA, George Stephanopoulos heads back to Washington, D.C. for an interview with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. On his blog Stephanopoulos writes, “We’ll be talking about the rough ride the economy has been this year and his predictions for recovery in 2010. Will the administration seek another stimulus package? And when will the job numbers improve?”

Part of the interview airs tonight on “World News with Diane Sawyer” and tomorrow on “Good Morning America.” Stephanopoulos will anchor from Washington.

• Related – Politico‘s Michael Calderone: ABC’s Jake Tapper and Terry Moran will be filling in for Stephanopoulos the next two Sundays on “This Week.”

> Brian Williams will anchor “NBC Nightly News” from the site of the Station Fire in Southern California again tonight. On the “Daily Nightly” blog, Williams posted a video after his arrival yesterday.

> ABC News announced the expansion of ABC News on Campus with the addition of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln as the sixth college bureau. The initiative, launched last fall, is a partnership with top journalism schools designed to educate and mentor college students.

> As part of their “One Year Later: The Month That Shook The World” series, next Thursday CNBC presents a town hall meeting with Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner. “Banking on Geithner” airs next Thursday, Sept. 10, at 7pmET.

The Washington Post‘s Howard Kurtz reports that for the past year, there have been a series of “off-the-record dinners” for top newsmakers and journos, organized by David Bradley, owner of the Atlantic Media Company.

The get-togethers are held at Bradley’s office and give, as Kurtz says, a “rarefied level of access.” Among the attendees (“as A-list as they come”): White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

And “among those in regular attendance” — along with numerous print reporters — are tvnewsers such as NBC’s David Gregory, ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, and PBS’s Gwen Ifill.

“I launched it for the romance of it,” Bradley says. “It’s more book club than it is clubhouse.”

First on TVNewser: President Barack Obama will sit down with CBS News’ Bob Schieffer tomorrow in the Oval Office for an interview to air on “Face the Nation” Sunday.

This will be President Obama’s first Sunday morning interview since taking office.

We hear ABC’s This Week and NBC’s Meet the Press will have Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner as a guest.

Today on the mediabistro.com Morning Media Menu we’re joined by Clusterstock.com editor John Carney.

We discuss Howard Dean‘s move to CNBC, if Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is getting fair coverage in the press and more.

Also: brackets! Carney says you should have made your picks like a short seller.

You can listen to all the past podcasts at BlogTalkRadio.com/mediabistro and call in at 646-929-0321.

Click here to receive mediabistro.com’s Daily Newsfeed via email.

> CNN’s Ali Velshi interviews Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner today during the network’s “Road to Rescue” week. It airs during the 5pmET hour of The Situation Room, “Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull” and “Anderson Cooper 360.”

> Mediapost writes about a new weekend show coming to Fox Business Network (not “News”). CareerTV.com, which produces a monthly half-hour job related Web series, will begin a “Saturday afternoon show…expected to make its debut on Fox in early April.”

> BBC World News America is going to Japan. Looking at the global economy from a variety of locations, Matt Frei anchors from Tokyo tonight and tomorrow with Katty Kay in D.C. Preview videos are on BBC’s Website and after the jump…

Read more

CNN will devote the entire next week to covering the global economic crisis. Beginning Monday, “all dayside and primetime shows, anchors and correspondents will focus on the economic crisis both at home and around the world.”

That includes Anderson Cooper, who hits the road for AC 360 to report live from five cities (New York, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Detroit and Tampa) on the effects of the economic crisis.

Also Ali Velshi interviews Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner at the U.S. Treasury and gets “exclusive behind-the-scenes access.”

Click continued to see the full, lengthy release…

Read more

The cable news and business networks have been covering the late stock market surge, and crediting it to President-elect Obama’s reported selection of Timothy F. Geithner for Treasury Secretary.

Meanwhile, FBN announced they will be live Sunday night ahead of Monday’s announcemnet of the Obama economic team as well as the start of trading in foreign markets. Cheryl Casone anchors an hour-long Fox Business Special Report at 8pmET.