I have new awe for Jon Stewart. He’s the only actually doing journalism on TV these days, actually asking tough questions and insisting that people account for themselves. Cramer genuinely looks abashed here.
It would be funny if it weren’t so sad.
And how the hell impressive is it to see Stewart nearly shaking with rage when he tries to convey how angry he is?
If you saw The Daily Show last night, you didn’t see the whole interview. Here it is in its entirety, and uncensored:
I watched the Daily Show last night; my immediate Twittered response was “Jon Stewart is a frighteningly incisive, passionate and articulate journalist who does a very good job pretending to be a comedian.”
I’ve been following this for a while. For the sake of those who haven’t, here’s what led up to this (seriously, do yourself a favor and watch :P):
Stewart’s first general takedown of CNBC.
Cramer picks a fight (why would he do that to himself?)
Cramer refuses to stay down (he has a death wish, see.)
I find it sad that you actually believe Jon Stewart is a journalist. He’s a comedian who pretends to do a news show. Anyone who takes it seriously has major problems.
Watch the interview. I haven’t watched the unedited version yet, but I caught the Daily Show last night. Stewart asks Cramer the questions the latter should have been asking to his own guests the last few years.
“I find it sad that you actually believe Jon Stewart is a journalist. He’s a comedian who pretends to do a news show. Anyone who takes it seriously has major problems.”
That’s sort of the whole point of his show, though. The fact that he’s a comedian, yet has tougher interviews and more substantive analysis than most “real” journalists, is as scathing an indictment of the media’s abdication of responsibility as you could ask for.
Exactly Jurgan. Stewart is demanding the network who calls themselves financial journalists to start acting like them. Journalism is supposed to act as the watch dog in a free society, and sadly, journalism has let us down over the past decade because they were more concerned about ratings. That’s the whole freaking point.
If you want to look at the Daily Show as “comedia”, that’s fair enough. Just realize that your usual suspects of CNN/Fox are actually WORSE.
Isn’t this a parallel to medieval courts, where only the king’s jester could tell the truth? I have a lot of respect for Stewart, but I also have a lot of respect for Cramer, despite all his flaws, because he had the courage to show up, when he knew how much he had to answer for.
Brilliant stuff.
Dear Jon:
I love you. Passionately.
Ps: I’m not gay. But feel free to ask for my number. And rent a room at a hotel for us…
But seriously, it is very depressing that the very people who can make actualy relevant coments to society are the ones who aren’t meant to be taken seriously… at least not as much as they should.
“Isn’t this a parallel to medieval courts, where only the king’s jester could tell the truth?”
Spot on. But quoting Neil Gaiman’s “The Sandman”:”It has always been the prerogative of children and half-wits to point out that the emperor has no clothes. But the half-wit remains a half- wit, and the emperor remains an emperor.”
Not calling Jon an half-wit, because he appears to have more culture and comon sense than the previous president of the United States. But you get the point. I wish shows like the Daily show and the Colbert Report had a bigger audience…