TheStreet.com “in turmoil,” says Cramer

Financial news site TheStreet.com is in turmoil, says company co-founder Jim Cramer, in comments posted on FutureofCapitalism.com about his career in journalism.

FutureofCapitalism writes, “A job at the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner was an upgrade in pay — to $179 a week — but not in circumstances. His editor assigned him to try to get an interview with the ‘San Diego Sniper’ while the serial killer was still shooting. It was then that he wound up living in his 1977 Ford Fairmont. ‘Someone was murdered a few cars down from me in my parking lot home,’ Mr. Cramer recalled. On the upside, he did not need homeowner’s insurance, ‘because my collision and theft covered everything.’

“Things have since turned upward for Mr. Cramer. ‘I love my job,’ he said, advising young journalists: ‘You need the Nielsens, you need the page views, you need the showbiz.’

“‘On Monday, go register yourname.com,’ he said. ‘If you believe, as I do, that journalism is indeed commerce, you might as well own yourself.’

“In addition to his work at CNBC, Mr. Cramer also works at thestreet.com, which he described as ‘really in turmoil.’ Although he said ‘the web won’ over television, he said the web-based journalism business is tough. ‘Every year your ad rates go down,’ he said.”

Read more here. TheStreet.com has named a new CEO and a new editor in chief in the past two months.