John Stewart had another extremely honest moment this week. The previous one is when he unloaded on the hosts of crossfire several years ago.
His newest honest moment came this week while interviewing Jim Cramer, the host of Mad Money on CNBC. It really was an honest moment. There are three parts. Parts 2 and 3 are the best. Here's part 2
Part 1 and 3 are here.
Needless to say, Cramer did not come for a real debate. I think Cramer was thinking it would be like all the other John Stewart interviews: cordial and funny. Cramer didn't get that. What he got was brutally honest and real. Stewart did an excellent job of taking complex financial problems and making them simple. Stewart then stood in the difficult position and really did hold Cramers feet to the fire for participating in those problems. I feel that expression is often over used or not used correctly but this was one of those moments. Stewart filled the position of a jerk because no one has been willing to be one. While he was not a jerk, (our society's leaders prefer if you don't make them answer for crap they have done and if you do you are a jerk.) it was unfortunate that Cramer had to be the whipping boy. Because lets be honest, if you have a news show you won't get any interviews with big names if you are constantly holding people accountable for their sins. So, I think over time the media chooses access over substance. Access gets more viewers, more viewers means better ratings and that means more ad dollars.
At the end of the day, rewatching Stewart on Crossfire and then the Cramer interview, I feel Stewart has stepped into a new role. He is now the "old style hard news" spokesperson. He has complained about the media's inability to really go after failing politician or othe media. Stewart expects a level of professionalism but is unwilling to take any major steps to change things. Yes, his comedy show is not for that. What he needs to do is start a new show, either hosting or producing, that does just that. Show the media how its done.
