Jon Stewart, host of the Daily Show, targeted financial information, more specifically CNBC, the financial news channel continuously affiliated with NBC. He particularly berated Jim Cramer, a former hedge fund manager who has turned journalist with his show ‘Mad Money.’ The relationship is too close between journalists and their subjects, said Stewart. He adds that a certain level of incompetence does more harm than good in relaying so-called financial news.
Media critics have also discussed the issue. Among the most severely criticized is the analysis of the Columbia Journalism review that dates back to the GAO report (General Accounting Office, a public non-partisan equivalent of the Court of Auditors) of 1994. The study was disqualified by lobbyists and ignored by politicians, despite its vision.
Tri-media practitioners have also reviewed the performance of financial journalists. These media people think that no matter how alarmist financial journalism sounds, it has never been given much credibility. These works also never received follow-ups and were largely obscured by editorial choices and portraits of leaders and stars of finance.
During Jon Stewart’s interview of the usually uncompromising bombast Jim Cramer, it was apparent that the latter was not prepared to update the interview he granted in 2006, giving yet another proof of how finance people who have turned ‘journalists’ do not know the basic tenet of journalism called follow-up lead.
Via The Deal
Posted by GSerrano on March 15, 2009 in Business, Market Trends · 2 Comments
While I enjoy watching Cramer every night, one must remember the show is primarily entertainment. The financial networks exist to promote their advertisers financial and investment products. Who would expect them to warn about the credit bubble or coming Washington national debt collapse which will destroy much of the remaining private wealth in America today or what this will do to the dollar, the stock market, bonds, gold or the real estate market?
It is ironic that Jon Stewart and a comedy show instead of the regulators or news media had to bring all of this public. Also in Cramers defense he is far less guilty than most of the other financial media for their efforts together with Wall Street, the politicians, incompetent regulators for what has happened.
China is now worried about their dangerous over investment in US Treasury obligations. Washington ’s long-term choice is either repudiation or monetization. For monetization to be effective, the depreciation in the dollar would have to be substantial and this in turn would dramatically raise prices of imports for American consumers which would mean a tremendous drop in foreign imports. Debt monetization would cause more disruption to exporting nations than selective repudiation of Treasury debt.
The Campaign to Cancel the Washington National Debt By 12/22/2013 Constitutional Amendment is starting now in the U.S. See: http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=67594690498&ref=ts
Thanks,
Ron with 30 plus years in the investment business and banking industry.
Stewart needs to be commended for speaking out about what the real issues are with these wall street crooks. Even as the bail out money gets distributed it does not make it past the boys at the top. Good on ya Jon for telling it like it is.