CNBC Angered By Cramer's Performance

Seems that the stock cheerleaders at CNBC are upset with Jim Cramer's performance on The Daily Show, and Cramer himself feels that he was "blindsided" by Jon Stewart:

Cramer has told colleagues he felt blindsided by Stewart's hostile approach. But many CNBC staffers were furious with Cramer yesterday for failing to defend the network's reporting or to criticize Stewart's video clips as selectively edited or out of context. CNBC declined all interview requests, saying in a statement: "CNBC produces more than 150 hours of live television a week that includes more than 850 interviews in the service of exposing all sides of every critical financial and economic issue. We are proud of our record."

Cramer was blindsided? Has he ever watched The Daily Show? What bullshit! Somebody finally noticed that CNBC missed the greatest debacle in the financial system since 1929, a disaster that was entirely predictable--and they're upset about being called to task for it? (In the interests of full disclosure, I often listen to Cramer myself, and followed his advice to get out of the market last October.) Please!

Meanwhile, producers at sister channel MSNBC have been asked to downplay the interview:

A TVNewser tipster tells us MSNBC producers were asked not to incorporate the Jim Cramer/Jon Stewart interview into their shows today. In fact, the only time it came up on MSNBC was during the White House briefing, when a member of the press corps asked Press Secretary Robert Gibbs if Pres. Obama watched. Gibbs wasn't sure if the president had, but Gibbs did. "I enjoyed it thoroughly," the Press Secretary said.

...and the CEO of theStreet.com, a financial website founded by Cramer, has abruptly resigned:

Friday brought more tumult for CNBC anchor Jim Cramer, when the chief executive of his online financial news site, The Street.com, resigned.

The company announced Friday that Thomas Clarke, TheStreet.com’s CEO for the past decade, would be leaving, effective immediately.

[...]Outsized TV personality and chairman of the board Jim Cramer issued a boilerplate statement on Mr. Clarke’s departure, saying only, “I want to thank Tom for his long-time service to the Company and wish him the best of luck in his future endeavors.”

The abrupt nature of Mr. Clarke’s departure only adds to the company’s troubles in the current bear market. Its stock dropped below $2 per share this week, down from $9.50 per share a year ago.

Uh-huh...."thanks for your long-time service," here's a golden watch, don't let the doorknob hit you in the ass on your way out.

It all sounds to me that parent company GE wants to keep things as quiet as possible. Fortunately for the rest of the planet, the interwebs keep them from doing that; Rachel Maddow reported on her show reported that Comedy Central's servers saw a 400% increase in traffic since Thursday night's airing of the interview. Pretty slick way to mention the interview too, Rachel!