Stewart—Cramer Showdown

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The failures of journalists have now been well documented (weapons of mass destruction) and stem largely from the declining budgets news organization have to work with. I think most journalists are well intentioned but have the lost the opportunity to do real research. On the other hand, thousands of financial industry "specialists" knew the real score and failed to clear their throats. Why did our modern blogosphere not live up to its promise?

Karl of NY 1:10PM March 25, 2009

If John Stewart wont berate those responsible for keeping us informed and staying ahead of the game then who will? Where are the indictments? Where are the lawsuits and the guilty being shuffled and shackled away thrown invariably into white collar prisons and beaten with wiffle bats?
We need an adult conversation with the young children who ran awry with our money, We need someone to say this is not a "f*@#ing Game! This is our retirement. This is money we need to feed our mouths when we turn 70. This is the long term investment we rely on to bankroll our disposable adult diapers and potato flakes Gah dah mitt! We know there are risks but they are the unforseen risks that only arise when there is major calamity or national disasters. We are being attacked and sabatoged from within our own country by the very people we elect and pay to protect us. The people we rely on to cast out those who would prey upon us. We bail them out and they pay themselves bonuses. Where are the lynch mobs? Are we above execution for this? How many people are going to have to work into their 80's to compensate for the failures of this system? People think that John Stewart was TOO harsh? On a man who opined on a nightly basis for hard working people to throw their money at the giant hole, knowing full well he helped dig it.
I sincerly thank whatever God exists for the freedoms I enjoy and the adulation I feel toward Mr. Stewart and his successful skewering of one of the many who thoroughly deserve it.

William Tiffany of UT 3:51AM March 23, 2009

Jon Stewart took shots at CNBC, Cramer and those "religiously tuned into his show every night." But if you listened to the interview with Jim Cramer, he wasn't blaming Cramer for leading the charge into the economic failure, he was accusing Cramer and CNBC of sitting by as financial analysts and pretending that companies were acting ethically when they knew those companies weren't.
He showed clips of Cramer advising people to manipulate the market to their company's advantage even admitting that those tactics could be considered illegal. Stewart wants Cramer and CNBC to behave like journalists and investigate. He was asking them to be the critical voice for the people who don't understand the markets as well as the "expets" do.
To accuse Stewart of hiding behind his comedian status is to say that you didn't listen to the interview. Cramer was caught up as a scapegoat during the jokes but in the end was offered a chance at redemption to truly represent the public as a journalist.

Troy of MN 2:13AM March 23, 2009

John showed clips which caught Cramer lying, engaging in stock manipulation and being part of an institution that helped destroy the finances of millions of people. What Cramer and others did was more than a simple mistake, it was criminal negligence at best and blatant lies at worst. To blame Stuart for exposing this what is what is really disgusting.

Charlie L of RI 4:18PM March 20, 2009

But that's TV's fault, not Stewart's.
I love all these whiny little comments that essentially boil down to: "Waah! Everybody listens to Jon Stewart instead of me!" That's right - we DO listen to Jon Stewart instead of you. Wanna know why? Because we trust Jon Stewart to tell us the truth (or at least the funny part of the truth) while we know damn well you'll tell us whatever happens to work best for you at the moment. In other words, we trust him because he's not a lying scumbag like most of you guys.

Realist of KS 9:19AM March 20, 2009

While I agree with you that people should totally be responsible for their investment choices-- in this culture of short attention spans where parents spend less time educating their kids and more time planning Disney vacations and media is so pervasive, its ridiculous to expect most people to be educated enough to have a strong understadning of the markets. If the majority of people investing truly understood the nuances of the market and the financial products they were investing in, chances are they would have used more caution. But keep in mind, a few years back Jim Cramer went on a national college campus tour, pretty much asking for young kids trust and establishing himself as a hip, go-to investment guru. If its just entertainment, then that promo tour was completely irresponsible. CNBC and Jim Kramer were selling the dream of growing wealthy by following his investment advice to young kids who were mostly knowledge poor about investing. And thats the problem with our media culture. To the guy running CNBC watching the advertising revenue roll in, its all entertainment-- but to millions of people who have no time to immerse themselves in learning the market because they want to go to NBA games, find out where "Brangelina" are this week, watch MTV-- and otherwise continue to fall into the growing number of uninformed people in this country-- Jim Kramer is a credible source. The travesty is, CNBC did everything to make people think it was okay to feel that way.

Janelle of DC 12:12AM March 19, 2009

I use to be a big Jon Stewart fan but to watch what he did with Jim Cramer was just unnecessary. Downright disappointing. To find peoples mistakes (that they commonly admit as Cramer does) then to pound him on national TV about it was ignorant. Did see any of what Cramer has done right, i.e. educate us on what goes on in the back of Wall Street. Instead Jon, maybe you should have gone to school for finance and then helped dear grandma invest her money. Chances are you would have fared like many that invested, holding half of what you started with. Now instead of blaming yourself it’s those bastards on Wall Street. What you did on Cross Fire was cool. What you did to Cramer was unnecessary. You lost me as a fan. Your just like the rest of them on tv, looking for an easy shot to take. Your such a hard ass. Shame on you Jon Stewart.

Mark of IL 11:09PM March 18, 2009

Jon Stewart showed the "real" news shows how it might look if they asked hard questions. Jon didn't let questions go unanswered or be avoided. Maybe Wolf Blitzer could take some notice.

Lucy of KS 12:05PM March 18, 2009

Getting upset because because someone is blaming them for the what happened. They LOVE to claim it is the "losers" whom they told, cajoled, intimidated and demanded to "trust us, we KNOW what we are talking about, you losers"
One side of the face comes out "TRUST US", the other side comes out with "WHY DID YOU TRUST US YOU LOSER YOU!"

Mark of NY 8:40AM March 18, 2009

He's at fault because he shouldn't have even commented on what Jon Stewart said weeks ago about the network. He should have kept his mouth shut (it's a comedy show, after all) and none of the last few weeks would have happened. His own sense of guilt lead him to say something to defend himself and this is what makes this whole thing sad. As Jon Stewart said, "how did we get here?" well, Jon, Cramer couldn't let a one-bit, sound-bite go and he was named and shamed.

K. Paige 12:40AM March 18, 2009