NBC Chief Calls Jon Stewart’s Condemnation "Absurd"

Jon Stewart’s lambasting of CNBC financial commentator Jim Cramer is now among the most-watched TV on the Web this year, and much has been made of Stewart’s short-term transformation from comedian to hard-hitting interviewer during the popular episode. Now, however, NBC is firing back. Jeff Zucker, NBC Universal chief executive, called Stewart’s rant "unfair" and "absurd." Zucker went on to say that "Everybody wants to find a scapegoat. That’s human nature. But to suggest that the business media or CNBC was responsible for what is going on now is absurd. Just because someone who mocks authority says something doesn’t make it so." Zucker also went on to say that Stewart’s comments were "completely out of line."

Be that as it may, Zucker didn’t actually address the fact that Stewart wasn’t blaming Cramer so much for his reporting as he was for the financial commentator’s disingenuous take on investing. In short, Cramer preached a long-term "buy and hold" approach for those investing for retirement in the form of IRA accounts and 401(k)s, but seemingly reveled in the "backroom" dealing and 35-to-1 leverage plays that helped to lead to the current collapse.

Zucker did say that he thought that CNBC’s reporters were doing a good job and, of comments like Stewart’s, "It’s unfair to CNBC and to the business media in general. I don’t think you can blame what happened here on the business media." Philippe Dauman, chief executive of Viacom – which owns Comedy Central – noted, "He’s very smart and has a connection with the zeitgeist. Jon Stewart’s one of the few people on air who spoke to what people were thinking out there."