In Depth: The King Has No Clothes…
Everyone is making last night’s Cramer vs. Stewart showdown as a big deal. Many are saying Stewart mopped the floor with Stewart. I say, why are you all elevating Stewart like this? This King has no clothes…
It’s easy to beat up on CNBC and the Business Media, not to mention the government, big business, and the rest of the media for allowing this to happen. Funny that Stewart doesn’t include himself in this group. Polls have shown that more people use The Daily Show to get their news than other sources. That’s a big responsibility for Stewart to have. So where was he when the signs were already showing but nobody was doing anything? He’s just as guilty as everyone else.
Which makes last night’s little showdown ring very hollow. People like to characterize Stewart as this sage populist. He’s anything but. He’s a whiny opportunistic leech who piles on after the horses have come home. He makes news not by being first or even ahead of the curve but by mopping up after the damage has been done and it’s easy to pick targets.
Not that Stewart didn’t mop the floor with Cramer because he did. But that has more to do with Cramer turtling instead of fighting back. Most people who show up on Stewart’s show fall into this trap. They let Stewart dictate the debate even if the debate is at the very least skewed a certain way or at the very worst totally invalid.
Everyone is to blame for the economic mess. You can’t single out one group or organization or individual for special consideration here. From the tops of government, to the businesses who participated, to the investors who participated, to the media which covered all this; everyone is to blame. And that includes Stewart who tries to oversimplify a very complex situation.
Unfortunately this point was not thrown in Stewart’s face. He skates away unscathed once again. Worse, he’s being given hero status. When will people wake up and realize that Stewart may be a King but he has no clothes. And it’s too bad because there really are fundamental issues to address regarding the media and access and who they serve. But Stewart isn’t the one to be addressing them because he lacks the tools to do it properly.
Update: I would add that I probably wouldn’t have written this today if I wasn’t reading so much about Stewart “the big hero” in the MSM today. Treat last night for what it was; a bloodbath. Don’t try to decode any lessons that can be applied to the future because this was neither an honest discussion nor the proper format to do so.
March 13, 2009 at 8:32 am
Wow dude, I’m not going to repeat my disagreement in the other thread. Suffice it to say I think you’re wrong about who Jon Stewart is and his impact. Y’all have at it, I’m going riding.
March 13, 2009 at 8:40 am
This is a BS argument. While a lot of people may watch Jon Stewart and obtain news from him, he is still the host of a COMEDY show. YOU Spud, are elevating him to anchor status.
That does not change the fact that Stewart is saying what a lot of anchors SHOULD be saying, but are not.
Not sure why you are so bitter about this, but you are.
March 13, 2009 at 8:47 am
CNBC dug itself a big hole by having its anchors announce which stocks they favor.
I heard Stuart Varney from FBN the other day say they do not do that.
I know they have analysts offer stock tips, but anchors don’t, apparently.
As I mentioned earlier, the media, along with everyone else, failed us greatly in this financial situation. ESPECIALLY CNBC, since they’re considered the king of business news.
Stewart rightfully torched Cramer.
However, Spud has a point. A LOT of young people get their news from Jon Stewart because they don’t bother to watch the real news. So people watch what he says, and believe him (including some on this blog).
March 13, 2009 at 8:48 am
Very engaging, wonderful, bold, colorful and spirited post Spud. Keep drinking that coffee!
I suggest that a bipartisan commission of real world business people and politicians needs to come up with a list of lessons learned.
Then that list should be published and used to create better business regulation and used to restraint wishful thinking government programs/policies that are fool hearty.
Pres, Obama and Republican leaders should get going on this commission.
March 13, 2009 at 8:53 am
YOU Spud, are elevating him to anchor status.
Really? Have you read what the MSM is writing today? They’re practically canonizing Stewart. Jon Friedman at least put an asterisk there today in his article by noting that Stewart’s a comedian first.
March 13, 2009 at 8:55 am
I heard Stuart Varney from FBN the other day say they do not do that.
Don’t fall into that trap. FBN likes to position itself as different from CNBC but at the end of the day they fawn over Warren Buffett just as much as their NBC competition…
March 13, 2009 at 9:05 am
Bingo, Spud!
I couldn’t believe what happened on The Daily Show last night.
Outrageous. Why did Cramer agree to go on that show? And get skewered by the arrogant, self-aggrandizing Stewart? Why play “kick me” with the pompous, overbearing Jon Stewart?
Nobody has to be linched by this clown.
March 13, 2009 at 9:29 am
Polls have shown that more people use The Daily Show to get their news than other sources. That’s a big responsibility for Stewart to have. So where was he when the signs were already showing but nobody was doing anything? He’s just as guilty as everyone else.
You’re usually significantly saner than this, Spud. Now it’s Jon Stewart’s fault for not warning us about what the banks were up to? Do you really mean this? or are you being deliberately provoking (a la Jon Stewart) to prove an ironic point?
March 13, 2009 at 9:40 am
In honor of Jim Cramer, I am going to dedicate this next video to President Barack Obama. Barack Obama, doesn’t care about Rich People! Kayne West “Heartless” GRIN!
http://youhavetobethistalltogoonthisride.blogspot.com/2009/03/tgif-circus-life-chinese-fire-drill.html
March 13, 2009 at 10:14 am
Now it’s Jon Stewart’s fault for not warning us about what the banks were up to? Do you really mean this? or are you being deliberately provoking (a la Jon Stewart) to prove an ironic point?
Stewart can’t have it both ways. He can’t try to act like some sort of Howard Beale type regarding the economic collapse when his own viewers tune in to his show for news. He’s trying to straddle a line here.
Whether he wants it or not, his viewers think The Daily Show is a source for news. He needs to address this point when he starts wading into the role of journalistic ombudsman, like last night.
And therein lies my point. He always waits until after the story breaks before he sticks his nose in. If he’s as well informed sage as some of you believe him to be, why does he always wait until its safe?
So, yeah. Stewart is part of the problem. Not a major player by any stretch of the imagination. But hardly Snow White. I see him carping and I think, where were you before it became all the rage to beat up CNBC and the business media?
March 13, 2009 at 10:23 am
And therein lies my point. He always waits until after the story breaks before he sticks his nose in. If he’s as well informed sage as some of you believe him to be, why does he always wait until its safe?
By DEFINITION, the story had to break before Stewart can react to it. He has no stable of investigative journalists; he has comedy writers. Anyone expecting TDS to break stories and expressing disapproval when they don’t has already ‘legitimized’ it as a news program, which it is not.
Full disclosure, I don’t watch TDS – I sometimes see clips online when everyone is talking about it but haven’t had time to review the Cramer takedown today.
March 13, 2009 at 10:24 am
And I’ll go further. The economic collapse started happening last year. Where was Stewart? CNBC and FBN and other business media were still in semi-denial mode. Stewart could have picked them off at will at that point and then at least he would have been somewhat ahead of the curve.
But he didn’t. He waits until there’s low hanging fruit which a blind person could hit. He waits for Santelli’s rant. He takes on Cramer, years after others like the Motley Fool and Blodgett did.
So when I see people say Stewart is doing a Howard Beale or is speaking truth to power or being a populist, I have to call BS. Because that’s what it is. And history, as I just documented, is on my side.
March 13, 2009 at 10:25 am
He can’t try to act like some sort of Howard Beale type regarding the economic collapse when his own viewers tune in to his show for news.
FWIW, I think you’re wrong here. Most of the people viewing his show have already gotten the day’s news online. The show wouldn’t even make any SENSE if you didn’t already know what was going on.
March 13, 2009 at 10:25 am
By DEFINITION, the story had to break before Stewart can react to it.
By “break” I guess I should really mean “becomes popular”. This story started breaking way before Stewart did anything.
March 13, 2009 at 10:27 am
“FWIW, I think you’re wrong here.”
Past polls say otherwise. The Daily Show comes out in front of other legitimate news sources. So either the pollees are lying or confused or there’s something to this. Which is right? I don’t know. But I have to go with the information at hand.
March 13, 2009 at 10:35 am
Has anyone looked into the predictions and advice of, say, Suze Orman? Is she taking a beating on Jon Stewart? I remember her advising her listeners to put their savings in AIG.
It’s just so obvious why Jim Cramer has been under attack, and that is because nobody is allowed to criticize President Obama.
March 13, 2009 at 10:51 am
Past polls say otherwise. The Daily Show comes out in front of other legitimate news sources.
I would certainly have to see the poll questions. Were they asking people to compare TDS to other televised news? Did the poll distinguish people who ONLY get their news from TDS from people who read online and are already primed with the news by evening?
By “break” I guess I should really mean “becomes popular”. This story started breaking way before Stewart did anything.
Sorry, but this is just silly. You are apparently blaming a comedy show for only covering what’s hot – what’s next? Leno’s monologue? Where was Jay, that’s what I want to know – while simultaneously going after the media coverage of the show for treating it like a legitimate news outlet. You’re saying, in effect, that since the MSM is legitimizing it as a news show, then by god they ought to BE one. And not just that, they ought to have been one all along, dammit.
You’re not only blaming TDS for the way other outlets are covering them, you’re expecting the show to BE what you claim the MSM is making them. How is that their ‘responsibility’? Can I make this blog be about, say, kittens and puppies by expecting it to be and then blasting it for NOT being about kittens and puppies?
March 13, 2009 at 10:55 am
“It’s just so obvious why Jim Cramer has been under attack, and that is because nobody is allowed to criticize President Obama.”
Oh brother. LOL!
March 13, 2009 at 10:57 am
For whatever reason, this has sent Spud off the deep end. Hopefully, he’ll be back to normal soon.
March 13, 2009 at 10:59 am
You are apparently blaming a comedy show for only covering what’s hot -
Not quite. I am blaming a comedy show from trying to act like a journalistic ombudsman by only covering it when it becomes hot.
Where was Jay, that’s what I want to know
If Leno was doing what Stewart is doing, you would have a point. As he isn’t, you don’t.
Can I make this blog be about, say, kittens and puppies by expecting it to be and then blasting it for NOT being about kittens and puppies?
If I start criticizing kittens and puppies, sure. As I’m not, you can’t. That’s the heart of my attack on TDS. If it’s going to dance in the role of journalistic obmudsman, it needs to act like one. Consistently. And in a timely manner. Not when it becomes all the rage.
March 13, 2009 at 11:06 am
That’s the heart of my attack on TDS. If it’s going to dance in the role of journalistic obmudsman, it needs to act like one. Consistently. And in a timely manner. Not when it becomes all the rage.
Unbelievable. Once again, how dare they not take on the role I assign them?
March 13, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Jon Stewart’s show is a comedy show. It doesnt matter what the media, some viewers, or you think his role is. His job is to be funny. Though they play ones on TV, Jon Oliver and Jason Jones arent investigative journalist.
Their job is to make people laugh, the media’s job is to report the news.
March 13, 2009 at 1:58 pm
Jon Stewart comments on the news. He makes no effort to dig news up, and no effort to be impartial about what he covers. How is that any different from Bill O’Reilly or Keith Olbermann? They’re not journalists, either (in spite of MSNBC’s imaginings). Stewart did exactly what they do every night: commented on the news. And just as Bill and Keith often do, he did a pretty good job of it last night.
March 13, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I seem to be the only person on the planet to have not seen this debacle. I went to You Tube, and see all kinds of other shows TALKING about the weeklong fight between the two, but cannot find the Stewart’s program on which Cramer appears. Anyone got a link?
March 13, 2009 at 3:12 pm
Go to http://www.thedailyshow.com. You can watch any show by picking a date, plus there’s probably a link to the entire interview (it was edited for the show).
March 13, 2009 at 3:58 pm
You can see it via tvnewser. If I post the link here this post will be delayed for moderation. If you don’t want to poke around tvn looking for it, click on my name; I have the link posted in the Friday Links post.
March 13, 2009 at 6:43 pm
Missy, go to thedailyshow.com.
March 13, 2009 at 8:38 pm
I agree that Jon Stewart shouldn’t be hailed as a hero for this. Jim Cramer basically rolled over, although he did raise a good point when he noted (paraphrasing) that nobody was complaining when their portfolios were going up 30% each year since 1999 until it started to unravel.
I’m not a big fan of TDS because the whole tenor of the show is cynical. I can’t see how any of the younger people eligible to vote would do so after watching Stewart toss politicians on the grill every night.
In regards to Jon Stewart as journalistic ombudsman…..he has had his moments, such as his appearance on CNN’s Crossfire.
March 13, 2009 at 9:40 pm
Jim Cramer didn’t roll over, he got rolled. His statements in the video were indefensible. The guy was in bed with the weasels running the Wall Street racket. He got caught.
March 13, 2009 at 10:23 pm
[...] Central to see an interviewer ask difficult questions? Jon Stewart is earning a lot of credit for his interviews of financial journalists while Anderson Cooper is on CNN talking about (again!) [...]
March 14, 2009 at 8:22 am
Stewart had clips of Cramer ADMITTING he was cheating the system when he was a hedge fund manager
You can’t blame Stewart for finding the clips and calling Cramer on it
You can blame Cramer for cheating his clients, then being stupid enough to admit it on tape
CNBC has a SERIOUS credibility problem now
Its new strategy of turning reporters into commentators is blowing up in its face
Larry Kudlow is fine as a commentator, but he has no business hosting a midday show
But then again, this is a network who defends its star, Maria Bartiromo, for sleeping with her sources on a jet plane
March 14, 2009 at 2:16 pm
Joe – Kramer used to be “in bed” with the weasels. He wrote a book about it. That’s different from what he does now, but the point is taken in that he has intimate knowledge about how the system can be gamed and Stewart’s point about wanting the Jim Cramer on Mad Money to protect the investor from the Jim Cramer on the video clips he ran was a very valid point.
I don’t watch Mad Money very much so I don’t know how bad Kramer was papering over what they were doing. I did see him on Morning Joe when stocks were at around 9,000 and he said that anyone who isn’t in the market for the long run should sell everything and put their money in CDs. I would imagine a lot of Wall Street types were angry that he would have made that suggestion. So I don’t know if he is as bad as he came off in that interview.
March 14, 2009 at 2:41 pm
Jon Stewart’s show is a comedy show. It doesnt matter what the media, some viewers, or you think his role is. His job is to be funny.
Then what the hell was he doing tackling a serious issue with Cramer with no comedy punch lines? There was nothing funny about that interview except maybe Cramer blurting out “Oh no, not 120!” after Stewart called for it to be rolled.
March 15, 2009 at 3:37 am
That is a good point in regards to TDS blurring the line between tackling serious issues and maintaining itself as a “comedy show.” I think Stewart is funny and there is a lot of great satire on the show, but he can’t step into a serious debate with the premise that he’s just a comedian and therefore his argument is not, ultimately, to be taken seriously.
I watched the interview a second time and caught Stewart’s line about how his show openly “sells snake oil.” He is essentially getting himself off the hook from any counter-argument that can be made against him while he goes on the offensive.