Sorry, Guys, No Rivalry Between CNBC Babes

(NEWSER) - NBC CEO Jeff Zucker said today that Jon Stewart’s Daily Show attacks are “incredibly unfair to CNBC and the business media,” Broadcasting & Cable reports. “CNBC is a spectacular organization and in particular Jim Cramer,” Zucker continued. “What is going on now is absurd.” The media isn’t responsible for the financial crisis, he said, in the same way it’s not to blame for the Iraq war. More»

New game lets you fend off Mad Money host's critics

(NEWSER) - Jim Cramer is facing his share of critics, from Jon Stewart to Fox Business, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Now you can help him defend himself in a new web video game: Jim Cramer’s Crashsteroids. Steer Cramer’s sneering mug as he takes aim at his detractors in the format of classic arcade game Asteroids. More»

(NEWSER) - With Wall Street in shambles, Jim Cramer’s ratings are higher than ever—which is fine as long as you ignore his stock picks, Bill Alpert writes in Barron’s. Cramer doles out thousands of buy/sell recommendations a year that consistently underperform the market. Alpert examined Cramer’s record from May to December last year, and found that while Cramer’s sells beat the market by 5%, his more numerous buys lost up to 10% more. More»

'Volatility news cycle' as bad for traders as it is for nervous investors

(NEWSER) - Is the media behind the rampant volatility gripping Wall Street? It can’t be helping, longtime observer Roger Ehrenberg writes for Information Arbitrage. CNBC, Fox Business, and others recycle countless talking heads, each with passionate and conflicting views. “Media is motivated to evoke a reaction,” Ehrenberg reasons, so they “sew the seeds of conflict.” This constant bear/bull tug-of-war has created a “volatility news cycle.” More»

Networks see viewer interest in formerly esoteric financial instruments

(NEWSER) - TV news programs are grappling with explaining the financial crisis to an audience suddenly much more interested in business news, the New York Times reports. With CNBC seeing its highest ratings ever and CNN, Fox and MSNBC seeing bumps in recent weeks, news shows have put teams of business pundits onscreen to explain nebulous concepts like credit-default swaps to the average viewer. More»