Jon Stewart - Media Crusader
The bell rang, and two fighters went out at each other. Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer squared off on the Daily Show last night, and Stewart ripped Cramer apart.
Jim Cramer is the host of a show on CNBC called Mad Money which is a rather, um, crazy show. It is loud and dramatic, and i have never been able to watch a complete episode. Stewart is probably one of the smartest guys on American television. His Daily Show is a funny talk show where serious news gets presented in a funny way.
You could say they are both entertainers in their own way.
Anyway, Stewart ran a bit criticizing CNBC and their apparently poor (and irresponsible) standards of coverage of financial news. Cramer took offense, and said some stuff about Stewart. This went back and forth for a few days, and for some reason, Cramer decided to appear on the show last night.
Mr Stewart seemed pissed, and he laid it on Cramer. I don’t think i have seen Stewart as serious ever.
The full interview is available online. Here’s part 1 of the three part series. Watch an intro video about the whole thing here.
For those who did watch the show last night, they didn’t show the entire interview on TV. This is the complete thing.
So anyway, Stewart’s point was that CNBC should act more responsibly and in the public’s interests instead of playing to the banking community. Cramer ended up getting burnt because he was the one who raised objection to Stewart’s comments.
I find the whole thing rather amusing. Isn’t responsible journalism a contradiction in itself these days?
The entire thing seemed a bit too personal for two very seasoned TV personalities. It seemed like a crusade against the irresponsible reporting of CNBC. Some days back Stewart was talking about Fox news.
Please Jon Stewart. Can you now do something about the Indian news channels? They have sucked our blood dry.
I caught it on rawstory.com this morning. I really don’t think it became personal. In the beginning, maybe, when Stewart was fooling around being his usual self. But once Cramer showed up, he did cut to the chase. And in fact he even reminded Cramer that it wasn’t about him, it was about the network putting up a front.
Did you see how Cramer was trying to be that lost innocent puppy? Unbelievable!
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@Gauri -
In this interview maybe you could get the feeling that this was not personal, but over the past few episodes Stewart made numerous jabs at Cramer, which would make it seem very personal. Yes there was the part where he says that this is not about you (Cramer), but the entire network, but Stewart really made Cramer the face of the entire network. There were so many clips where Stewart pretty much called Cramer a liar and a hypocrite.
And yes, i was surprised at how tame Cramer was. It wasn’t a fight. Seemed more like a bashing!
I did watch the interview tonight and you’re right. Never seen Cramer so subdued. I really thought it’d have been great if he’d apologized and accepted the terrible consequences of his actions. Instead, he was justifying himself, although a bit shamefacedly. Too little, too late.
Thanks for broaching this conversation, ad:)
You must see the stuff that NDTV and CNN IBN spew and Times Now and Headlines Today spew !
It is just appalling ! You must thank your stars !
:)
@Naperville Mom - Thank! Cramer surprised me too…he was totally on the backfoot, in cricket parlance.
@Kavi - haha…i know! There isn’t much responsibility on display on TV these days!
I saw this and thought a Jester is way smarter than the experts. We should to have someone keeping a tab on Indian Media, and ripp them off.
@Chirag - It would be awesome to see someone take on some of the super-hyped-but-full-of-crap Indian journalists.
I wouldn’t call Jon Stewart a jester. He is a super smart guy, with tremendous influence reach among the people.
I see it some where in past but don’t remember where…. but nice to see again on your page.