I've been on a little bit of a Wall Street rant as of late (here and here). But I can't help throwing out a couple more things, in case you somehow missed them. In recent weeks Jon Stewart, in his inimitable way, has been asking a truly important question: why did the business media completely and totally miss the Wall Street meltdown? Aren't they supposed to be doing investigative reporting? Aren't they supposed to be asking the hard questions, uncovering wrong-doing, and thereby informing and protecting the public? With all the resources at their disposal, how could they completely and totally miss the most profound economic event since the great depression? The truth, of course, is that the mainstream media coverage of Wall Street is a farce. It consists of interviews with CEOs and stock pickers, and advice and analysis that isn't worth the paper it's printed on (or the photons your TV/computer monitor emits). There are very few true business reporters out there (Gretchen Morgenson of the New York Times being my favorite). The first must-see show consists of Jon Stewart doing a take-down of CNBC (a cable channel devoted solely to business). The show includes plenty of clips from CNBC "experts" (including Jim Cramer) making statements and stock-picking suggestions which turn out to be spectacularly wrong. It is truly brilliant and instructive:
A couple of weeks later Jim Cramer was a guest on The Daily Show With Jon Stewart, presumably to defend his (and CNBC's) honor. It is simultaneously one of the most entertaining and disturbing interviews I've ever seen (though nothing compares to the Sarah Palin interviews). Jim Cramer is the host of a show on CNBC called Mad Money. The basic premise of the show is that Cramer, a former hedge fund manager, will "make you money" by telling you which stocks to buy or sell. The problem, of course, is that he has no idea what he's doing (see here and here). This is not a stab at him particularly, since I believe that aside from a truly tiny set of individuals, none of these fund managers or traders has any clue, and for the most part they all do roughly average (within expected deviations depending on their assumed risk). But I digress. In the interview Jon Stewart completely dismantles Jim Cramer, showing him to be essentially a fraud. Or, more to the point, he is providing entertainment, not actual financial advice. It is an astounding admission, from one of the most watched financial advisors in the world. What we need is more investigative journalism, and less snake-oil salesmanship. Here is the interview:
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
CNBC Financial Advicecomedycentral.com
Daily Show Full EpisodesEconomic CrisisPolitical Humor
The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c
