Neil Cavuto looks back at 15 years of Fox Business Network

close Video Neil Cavuto highlights his most prominent CEO interviews

‘Your World’ host celebrates the 25th anniversary of Fox News with a compilation of prolific business leader interviews

Fox Business Network celebrates its 15th anniversary on Saturday and original anchor Neil Cavuto believes its “no-nonsense, no-jargon” approach to covering the business news helped democratize an entire industry. 

“We dont just cover stocks in this country. We take stock of the country. For too long, business channels failed that test to cover the entire big picture. I like to think we changed that,” Cavuto told Fox News Digital.

Cavuto, who wears many hats at FOX News Media, is the anchor of Fox Business Networks “Cavuto: Coast to Coast” in addition to Fox News Channels “Your World with Neil Cavuto” and “CAVUTO Live.” He is also the managing editor of business news at both Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network. 

We caught up with Cavuto for his thoughts on his time at Fox Business Network and how the industry has evolved over the past 15 years. 

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Neil Cavuto believes Fox Business Networks "no-nonsense, no-jargon" approach to covering the business news helped democratized an entire industry. (FOX)

Fox News Digital: What is your most memorable Fox Business Network moment?  

Cavuto: The very first day of the network on October 15, 2007! Talk about baptism by fire! This new business channel was debuting in the middle of what would become a meltdown. Earlier that summer two big hedge funds failed, succumbing to something called subprime loans. Capitalism itself seemed on the brink and the markets and our very economy were cascading in real time.  

Fox News Digital: What about your proudest moment at the network?  

Cavuto: I like to think the way we handled that whole market collapse and the ensuing collapses worldwide. Looking back at it, that fall of 2007, we remained remarkably calm and focused. We didnt scream or panic. We offered perspective and a sense of history others missed in the heat of the moment. Maybe because they were all heat and only in that moment. We chose a different approach.

Thats because even 15 years ago I was old! But I had some perspective on what was unfolding at the time. I had covered the 1987 stock market crash when the Dow famously lost nearly a quarter of its value in a single day. I reminded viewers then, as I do to this day, that the trajectory of stocks is volatile, but over time, rewarding. I shared how we as a country had come through much worse a depression, seemingly countless recessions, oil embargoes, scandals, wars, assassinations and through jagged and wrenching experiences, we ended higher than where any and all these crises began. I believed then, as I believe now, that America is better than the sum of its fears, and defined more by the resolve of its convictions.

Neil Cavuto is the anchor Fox Business Networks "Cavuto: Coast to Coast" in addition to Fox News Channels "Your World with Neil Cavuto" and "CAVUTO Live." (FOX)

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Fox News Digital: How has the industry of covering business news changed or evolved over the past 15 years?  

Cavuto: Its much more mainstream now, much more ubiquitous now, much more Main Street than Wall Street now. More individual investors than ever before are playing in this market. Some dont even know it, but through pension funds and their own funds, they are players. Key players. Important players. We owe them a no-nonsense, no-jargon view of this world. Its their world. Their future. I think one of the things of which Im most proud, “we” are most proud, is how FBN democratized business news, and not just through the prism of our financial capital, but our nations capital. 

We recognized early and often that even if you dont own stock, you own stock in this country. You pay taxes. You pay into programs that you hope and trust will be there for you. We got that. We get that. We police that. We continue to pound that. I often tell people were not red or blue, were green. Just green. Just money. Who is spending it, and who is wasting it? We dont just cover stocks in this country. We take stock of the country. For too long, business channels failed that test to cover the entire big picture. I like to think we changed that.

Fox News Digital: Why should someone who isnt particularly interested in Wall Street check out what FBN has to offer?  

Cavuto: For one thing we wont bore you. Everyone wants to do well and for their children to do well. We focus on the dollars “and” SENSE. Its why we explain everything. Its why we leave out arcane acronyms and focus on real words, and the real world. They say the best question is the one “thought,” but never asked. I am happy to admit that Im not afraid to ask dumb questions. In fact, I built a career on it! It helps me make sense of whats going on and help my viewers make sense of what theyll do next now that they do too.

Fox Business Network’s Neil Cavuto and Maria Bartiromo speak before the FBN 2016 Republican presidential debate. (Fox News)

Fox News Digital: What do you expect from FBN over the next 15 years?  

Cavuto: We wont let our success go to our heads. Its the same thing I tell my kids and I suspect we all tell our kids. Assume nothing. Do everything. Dont take anything for granted. My Italian dad used to tell me growing up, “Neil, stay humble, because in your case, it will come in handy.” Wed laugh, but I knew full well what he was saying. Life is full of those who work for that moment they get that big office, or big paycheck or big opportunity. And then, inexplicably, they stop. Office secured, they feel secure and they just stop. Thats why my dad advised that I always look over my shoulder, “because people really are gunning for you.” His not-so-subtle message was that the more you take for granted, the less youll have to show for it. Its like winning the Super Bowl. An amazing achievement, but even more amazing when you do it again, when you challenge yourself and the odds again, and again.

My Irish mom used to have a different twist on this “Neil, the biggest sin in life is when your get-up-and-go, packs up and leaves.” Its ingrained in me now, and I know its ingrained in all of us at FBN now. We take nothing for granted, least of all our audience. Its not just in our programming. Its in our DNA.

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Brian Flood is a media reporter for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent tobrian.flood@fox.comand on Twitter: @briansflood.