Watchdogging the financial media: Media Matters takes on the task

As a follow-up to the Stewart/Cramer fiasco I blogged about last week, it appears that one non-profit organization, Media Matters, had declared itself a watchdog for the financial media.

They’ve launched a site called FinancialMediaMatters.org, and its main purpose is to hold those who report on labor and the economy accountable.

The organization states in a press release:

Media Matters created the website because the media have consistently offered false or misleading coverage of the causes of and proposed solutions for the current economic crisis. Many journalists, both in the financial and mainstream media, have failed to critically examine the issues and instead have simply repeated partisan spin –from using the phrase “Obama Bear Market” to touting CNBC on-air editor Rick Santelli’s rant as being “populist.” With this in mind, the new website will focus extensively on ensuring that outlets such as CNBC, Fox Business Network, and The Wall Street Journal are held accountable.

I’m still undecided on the effectiveness on the actual site – the design is rather convoluted, and right now there’s not much content that doesn’t fit into the “such-and-such media outlet publishes grossly inaccurate financial information” category. And while I agree with their opinion that “journalists” like Jim Cramer need some watchdogging, their site could use some positive examples – like, “hey, this is how financial journalism SHOULD work” – not to mention some concrete examples of what Media Matters intends to do to fix the problem (other than create a Web page). The other question is, of course, if the campaign will still hold attention once the buzz surrounding Jim Cramer dies down.

Fixing CNBC – with comedians and progressives

Last week, a somewhat comic, somewhat serious feud between Jon Stewart and Jim Cramer brought to the surface what many of us were thinking: CNBC, in particular “Mad Money,” practices pretty shoddy journalism.

Stewart stated, and rightly so, that pundits like Cramer serve as a PR machine for Wall Street instead of holding Wall Street accountable. Cramer even admitted to Stewart that he allows guests to tell blatant lies on his show, and fails to challenge or rebut those lies.

Of course, Steve Holt at CloggedTubes makes the valid point that Stewart isn’t really a journalist. He’s an observer. Sure, he can make the case that CNBC, and journalists in general, need to start getting to the bottom of Wall Street’s irresponsible spending instead of perpetuating lies and behavior that got our country into an economic mess in the first place. But aside from observing, what really can he do to fix the problem?