Fox Business swears its debate will be the opposite of CNBC's: 'It's not Access Hollywood'

A Republican debate stage
(Image credit: Getty Images)

While the Republican debates have famously been a free-for-all this election season, there is at least one informal rule networks are now following: Don't be CNBC. On the heels of the widely criticized debate in late October, CNBC's competitors are already doing their part to distance themselves from the "soap opera" that unfolded when moderators asked what some believed were questions meant to provoke drama. On Tuesday, it will be up to Fox Business News' Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo to conduct the candidates in the follow-up performance.

"My goal is to make myself invisible. That I'm not the issue...That we're not the issue. The answers to what we're raising become the issue," Cavuto has said. Both he and Bartiromo previously worked for CNBC before they jumped ship for Fox.

Watch the latest video at <a <span class="<span class="<span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"><span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span></span>" <span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" 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data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"><span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span></span>="en_US"><span class="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">scayt-misspell-word</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-word" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-word</span>="<span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="href" data-scayt-lang="en_US">href</span>" <span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="data-scayt-lang" data-scayt-lang="en_US">data-scayt-lang</span>="en_US"><span class="scayt-misspell-word" data-scayt-word="href" data-scayt-lang="en_US">href</span></span></span></span>="http://video.foxbusiness.com">video.foxbusiness.com</a>

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In response to CNBC's question controversy, Cavuto and Bartiromo both agreed to do their research and stick to economic and business topics. "We're business journalists. We're nerds, we should embrace who we are, we want to stick to these subjects,” Cavuto told Politico. Additionally, in order to address complaints about the large difference between candidates' allotted speaking times, the network will keep track of how long each candidate has spoken, and loop them back into the conversation if they're not getting their due, FBN said.

"This stuff in and of itself is riveting. People are tuning in for a reason. They're engaged in this process so you don't have to sell it like some sort of TV drama, it writes itself. So we should just make sure we're being informative and people feel informed, and we'll let chips fall where they may […] Don't trivialize this, don't 'gotcha' this, don't make this into something it's not. It's a debate on economic issues, it's not Access Hollywood," Cavuto said.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.