Cramer: “Real Money” should be educational and accessible

Jim Cramer’s “Mad Money” show on CNBC is celebrating its 10th anniversary this week, and Thursday’s show will have a live audience.

The show typically features guest interviews, viewer calls and the opinions of Cramer himself about specific stocks and other investments.

In 1996, Cramer helped found TheStreet, a financial media website for individual and institutional investors. He also writes daily market commentary for TheStreet’s Real Money premium service, and participates in video segments on TheStreet TV.

Cramer graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College, where he was president of The Harvard Crimson. He went on to earn a law degree from Harvard Law School in 1984.

From there Cramer joined Goldman Sachs, where he worked in sales and trading. In 1987, he left Goldman to start his own hedge fund. While still managing his fund, Cramer helped start Smart Money for Dow Jones.

He is the author of “Confessions of a Street Addict,” “You Got Screwed,” “Jim Cramer’s Real Money,” “Jim Cramer’s Mad Money,” “Jim Cramer’s Stay Mad for Life,” “Jim Cramer’s Getting Back to Even” and, his newest book, “Jim Cramer’s Get Rich Carefully.”

Cramer spoke by email with Talking Biz News about the show. What follows is an edited transcript:

What was the genesis behind Mad Money?

It all started with a radio show called RealMoney that I did for years. This is a televised version, hence the sound effects and the interactivity as that was a call-in show. I always thought it would be better on TV. Maybe I was right!

What are you trying to accomplish with each episode?

Teach people how to be a better investor or a better client; make them wiser about their money; give them the class that was never offered about their finances.

Do you see the show as entertainment or financial news?

I think I try to tell stories about companies and explain how the market works in an entertaining way as befits an evening show when the markets are closed. It is really meant to be accessible, in English, and educational. I need the viewer engaged the way a professor needs a student to be engaged.

Whom do you see as your target audience?

Anyone with an interest in the market and their savings.

Why use the sound effects and props?

These are a vestige of the radio show when you tried to make the narrative come alive, and I think that they get more people involved in the show than if I  didn’t have them. It’s OK to have fun and be about business!

How do you see the show fitting into CNBC’s strategy?

I think you have to ask Mark Hoffman and Nik Deogun and my executive producer Regina Gilgan about anything involving broader strategies of the network.