In Defense of CNBC
Posted By Randy Jones on March 30, 2009
I’m a little tired of Jon Stewart’s CNBC-bashing. It’s hard to feel sorry for Jim Cramer, but enough already. He’s an entertainer who happens to have a financial background. For many, he makes the world of investing accessible, a little less arcane, and I think that’s a good thing. Following his advice? Well, caveat emptor. But Stewart is being relentless. I opened the New York Post this morning to see his best joke of the moment. “If I’d just listened to CNBC, I’d have a million dollars today—provided I started with $100 million.” Funny? Yes. Correct? No. CNBC provides a real service to investors, if you believe knowledge is critical to any kind of tangible success, but they do not force investors to do anything other than perhaps to think. The investor always has to weigh the information he or she receives from any so-called expert: financial magazines, TV news, and most certainly from their financial advisers. Whatever happened to accepting personal responsibility? I know that everyone is looking for a scapegoat right now, but CNBC should not be it. I say Jon, stick to funny and let the Columbia Journalism Review and real journalists decide if Cramer and CNBC are the culprits of todays’ financial quagmire. Don’t shoot the messenger.
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