Cramer attack was cheap shot

Frank Cioffi, a former journalist, writes on Seeking Alpha that “The Daily Show” critique of CNBC‘s Jim Cramer and its coverage was a cheap shot.

Cioffi writes, “While I agree with Stewart’s overriding premise that major financial media let Americans down almost as much as the financial industry did, bunching Cramer along with the liars and thieves went too far. And it’s ironic to me that Stewart would attack a financial journalist who consistently tries to level the playing field between the ‘institutional financial complex’ and the average investor.

“Cramer saw this meltdown coming, and called it before almost anyone else, in his famous ‘rant’ months before the October 2007 market peak. He also suggested people exit the market on ‘The Today Show’ when the Dow was around 10,500. That advice saved a lot of people almost 4,000 points.

“Cramer is an easy target because of his bombastic style and because he makes many market and stock recommendations. CNBC is an easy target too; you can pull 20/20-hindsight video clips all day. But did any major financial press see last Fall’s crash coming (after the market had already fallen 25%)? Many experts with great track records didn’t get it right either.”

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