Jon Stewart entertains viewers with his crass commentary, experlative filled ramblings, and his ability to not shy away from giving or taking criticism from any direction on The Daily Show. Many Americans are feeling outraged about the economic situation and the actions –or inaction- of Wall Street bankers, CEOs, and financial news pundits alike in creating a financial mess that they seem unwilling to pay for. At least, not with their own money. Over the last few weeks, the ramblings of Rick Santelli created a firestorm in the media and has since gone viral. Jon Stewart weighed in on the issue by taking aim at the financial news industry and in particular CNBC saying “If I had only taken CNBC’s advice, I would have a million dollars today—provided I started with $100 million.” Cramer’s response to the criticism was to make the rounds on the news media circuit, seek out words of comfort from Martha Stewart, and blustering about and calling Stewart a “comedian.” This caused Stewart and his army of comedians and coffee drinking , TV watching interns to dig up even more damaging footage from Cramer’s show Mad Money. He called out his less than stellar stock recommendations and analysis, like his Bear Stearns comment, “At 69 bucks I’m not giving up on the thing!” and saying “Bear Stearns is not in trouble…Bear Stearns is fine!” Just days before it went under.
All the hoopla surrounding the feud made for great ratings and a showdown between Jon Stewart vs. Jim Cramer was set for March 12th, 2009. For Stewart, this was not his first encounter with a Cable News Network host. Back in 2004, CNN Crossfire co-host Tucker Carlson was on the receiving end of Stewart’s verbal punches which pretty much ended the segment on CNN and delivered a knockout blow to Tucker’s.
This exchange sealed it:
STEWART: How old are you?
CARLSON: Thirty-five.
STEWART: And you wear a bow tie.
Tucker has given up wearing a bow tie judging by his recent interviews. Although, he hasn’t let go of Jon Stewart getting the better of him. Would sparring with Jon Stewart have the same result on Jim Cramer’s career or would he be calm in the face of the shenanigans Stewart is known to pull.
Cramer vs. Not Cramer: Basic Cable Personality Clash Skirmish ‘09!
The exchanges between the two were good-natured and I think Stewart was gracious in calling attention to some of Cramer’s past comments without laying the blame solely at his feet. For Jim Cramer’s part, he seemed to wave the white flag in accepting his responsibility in perpetuating some of the problems with how financial news is reported and disseminated. Watch the interview and see for yourself. At best, it reveals a lack of due diligence on the part of Cramer and at worst a deliberate attempt to maintain direct access to CEOs lining up to mislead viewers while not blowing the whistle. Either way, he seemed to be genuine and humbled by the experience. Not fighting back too much was probably a smart career move. Let’s hope it changes how Mad Money is presented to the public for the better by showcasing his obvious financial expertise.
The news media by its very nature needs headlines for its news cycle and teases out storylines for the sake of generating ratings, sometimes at the expense of its viewers. Jon Stewart made the case against financial reporters cozying up to Wall Street managers and passing on stock trading tips without doing their homework. Jim Cramer and CNBC were the face of this attack but the entire industry is culpable in creating an environment in which the lines between opinion and fact; entertainment and news has been blurred.
The week long feud spread at a torrid pace as media coverage intensified and The Daily Show clip of Stewart hammering away at Cramer went viral capturing 1.3 million online views. According to Comedy Central site traffic was up 65% last week. Ratings for The Daily Show soared on the news of Jim Cramer’s appearance, with the episode netting 2.3 million viewers, 2nd highest of the year and put it in the top 10 shows since the show first aired over 12 years ago.
It’s a BUY!*
* All advice herein is solely the opinion of this author and in no way represents the views of financial experts with years of experience as snake oil salesmen. Proceed at own risk in ensuring your financial security.
