CNBC jumps the shark with JP Morgan coverage

DS Wright of FiredDogLake.com — and others on the Internet — wrote Monday that CNBC‘s coverage last Friday about whether JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon should resign shows the network is out of touch with the rest of the world.

Wright writes, “The financial press in general has a reputation for being courtiers for Wall Street in hopes of finding a job or spouse in the halls of money. But CNBC fails to even offer the patina of journalistic pretense most of the finance press displays. They are, quite clearly, hacks posing as journalists.

“This isn’t news to the public who got acquainted with CNBC’s less than admirable news programming with Jim Cramer’s appearance on The Daily Show where host Jon Stewart displayed multiple clips of Cramer not only contradicting some of his stated moral values but openly encouraging and bragging about illegal market manipulation activities such as using the news media to help short a stock. During the interview Stewart also noted CNBC’s claims of expertise while actually ‘cheerleading’ the Wall Street banks.

“That cheerleading was on full display when a discussion arose over whether or not Jamie Dimon should stay on as CEO after JPMorgan was set to face massive fines for illegal conduct. In an interview with Salon writer Alex Pareene resident Wall Street mouthpiece Maria Bartiromo was incredulous at Pareene’s suggestion that JP Morgan was corrupt. First Bartiromo demanded examples of JPMorgan’s corruption, then when provided with said examples Bartiromo not only refused to accept the evidence but accused Pareene of being irresponsible even mocking the reference Pareene made to published articles ‘Ohhhh the New York Times, OK!’ Bartiromo then claimed the bad PR that JPMorgan was getting was part of a ‘witch hunt’ despite the fact that JPMorgan has plead guilty to multiple violations including the London Whale debacle.

“Even other financial journalists appeared disgusted by CNBC’s naked shilling of JPM.”

Read more here.