CNBC Didn't Go Mad on Apple, but Its Last Guest Did

NEW YORK (TheStreet) -- I get several emails a day from people who want me to agree with them. They want me to endorse the notion that CNBC hates Apple (AAPL) and wants to see it fail.

I never agree. In fact, I argue pretty much the opposite. CNBC -- and TheStreet, for that matter -- don't really care one way or the other, as collective organizations, if Apple succeeds or fails. We just want them -- and others as well -- to be around forever and always.

As individuals within these organizations, we all have our opinions. Some express them on the air and in print more than others, but they are opinions. And if we didn't have them and our employers prohibited us from expressing them, all of our lives -- including yours -- would be a heck of a lot more boring.

The "CNBC hates Apple" conspiracy theorists have probably never worked in the media; have never talked to a television producer, an anchor, reporter or financial writer; have never done much beyond what we all have done vis-a-vis professional sports ... screamed from the stands about what a wuss Ron Duguay was, or what a pretty boy Tom Brady is. (For the record, I like both men quite a bit.)

And that's not a slight, but when you call somebody's integrity into question, you better darn well have either been in their shoes or talked to them about what it means, day-to-day, to walk their miles.

I visited the CNBC "Squawk on the Street" set last week on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. During the breaks, Carl Quintanilla and Melissa Lee were not hatching another component of Melissa's grand plan to take Apple down ... because she doesn't have one!.

In fact, during the breaks, Carl, Melissa and David Faber (who intimidates the living hell out of me!) were laughing and joking with one another and with producers. Nice people. And absolutely smooth pros at what they do because, believe me, it's not easy.

Truth be told -- CNBC, like the rest of us, talks all Apple, all the time (even though that's really not even true) because you (many of you, anyway) care so much about the company and stock. It's a battleground -- just like Flyers/Penguins or Patriots/Jets. And, as most emotional-laden matters go, you (and me) pay closest attention and react the loudest to the most controversial opinion makers.

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