In another example of Rupert Murdoch using his financially disastrous New York Post to whip people with whom he disagrees, the Post’s Page Six published a ridiculous hit piece on Jon Stewart.
The article points an accusatory finger of shame at Stewart for the sin of talking to his brother:
JON Stewart, the scourge of Wall Street and bane of CNBC, may have had a secret weapon in his corner to help him prep for his grudge match with “Mad Money” host, Jim Cramer – his older brother.
As the Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, Stewart’s brother, Larry Leibowitz, is head of US Markets & Global Technology at NYSE Euronext.
In effect, the Post’s Richard Johnson is criticizing Stewart for conducting research. You know, the sort of thing that reputable journalists are supposed to do. If you have a big interview coming up, you study the subject so that you are prepared to address it intelligently with your guest (assuming your guest is intelligent). Johnson, not surprisingly, wouldn’t know anything about this because it is, as I said, done by “reputable” journalists.
What’s more, Johnson’s assertion that Stewart was coached isn’t even borne out in the article. He simply states that Stewart has a brother in the financial business, but offers no proof that they ever discussed Cramer. However he does attack the brothers for engaging in some sort of undefined conspiracy:
“What a routine they have. One brother pretends to kick Wall Street’s butt by crucifying Cramer on his show, while the other brother is down on Wall Street kissing it.”
For good measure, Johnson closes the article by disparaging Cramer’s ratings, without bothering to mention the conflict of interest that he has as an employee of a corporation that also runs Fox News, a competitor to Cramer’s CNBC.
Johnson may have spoken to someone in regards to his piece on Stewart maybe having spoken to his brother. What a set up! This guy writes in a newspaper that no one reads about a show that is relevant! Like an onion this horror has layers upon layers.
This is actually a(nother) case of NewsCorp initimidation. They are
going after family. They are attempting to hurt Jon Stewart by insinuating impropriety on the part of his brother. Their hope is to cause discomfort in Stewart’s family sufficient to discourage him from further aggressive treatment of Wall Street shenanigans.
I agree. Murdoch’s minions have been confused about how to respond to Stewart, who is a lovable scamp. So they have been treading softly. But lately they are been more bold and direct. Glenn Beck has even begun going after Colbert.