CollegeJourn chat reflects on Stewart vs. Cramer

March 16, 2009 in industry news

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This week’s #collegejourn chat opened up with a hot topic on the web this week: The John Stewart vs. Jim Cramer showdown that took place on the Daily Show (if you haven’t seen it, watch the full interview here). #

Stewart (the comedian pundit) took on Cramer (CNBC’s financial news commentator) for his network’s faulty reporting prior to the country’s financial plummet. #

The interview drew an audience of 2.3 million and was the year’s second-most-watched Daily show– but was it journalism? Here’s what a few people in the chat said: #

It was less journalism, more a wake up call to journalism -andrew_dunn #

Journalism requires a newsier hook. Santelli was days before. If it is classified as journalism, it’d be one of those features the NYT likes to do in its bottom-left corner below the fold -srubenfeld #

What he did that night was undoubtedly journalism, at it’s best you might say. Whether that makes him a journalist or not. . . -joshhalljourno #

I think Jon Stewart is a journalist – he tells the truth through humor – by highlighting what is left unsaid. -hidama #

I’d describe what he does on most nights as much closer to commentary and analysis than straight journalism. -aweiss #

What can we learn from Stewart v. Cramer to take back in our journalistic responsibilities? #

Get away from access-based faux reporting and start doing document-based reports. -srubenfeld #

Be as knowledgeable as a comedian. If you can’t make a joke, then you don’t know enough about it. -hidama #

Talking to a CEO doesn’t necessarily give you an insight into a company’s direction. Middle-management, those actually making the trades etc. are the ones to talk to. -srubenfeld #

The main lessons learned, as noted by moderator Suzanne Yada: #

  1.  Do your research
  2. Don’t necessarily trust “officials”
  3. Don’t settle for pat answers if you know there’s something else going on
Columbia J-school’s new approach  #

The second topic covered in #collegejourn chat was tied to New York Magazine’s recent article about how out of date Columbia’s j-school is. #

The controversial excerpt: #

“F*** new media,” the coordinator of the RW1 program, Ari Goldman, said to his RW1 students on their first day of class, according to one student. Goldman, a former Times reporter and sixteen-year veteran RW1 professor, described new-media training as “playing with toys,” according to another student, and characterized the digital movement as “an experimentation in gadgetry.” #

Reactions in the chat: #

J-school should exclusively focus on teaching people how to tell stories, regardless of medium.-srubenfeld #

put another way: The fundamentals of journalism stay the same regardless of platform. -aweiss #

it’s not about medium. it’s about the internet completely changing the way we communicate between humans, and j-school recognizing that. -bethshanna #

What are your thoughts on either of these topics? Let us know in the comments. You can read the full #collegejourn transcript here (you really should read it, it’s a good one this week). #

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