Investorial should have been on top of this story, but Investing Intelligenty picked it up and ran beautifully with his take on CNBC’s Mad Money. The show’s ringmaster is former hedge fund manager, the boisterous Jim Cramer. Jim was also the co-host on a previous CNBC program, Kudlow & Cramer.

I always thought the show to bring little value to the “common investor”; the ones Jim wished to help. I never did think enough of the show to do research and post on it. Like Investing Intelligently, I could barely stand watching the show for more than a few minutes while I flipped through the channels. It’s all about showmanship for Jim. While he’s busy pressing buttons for sound effects and graphic overlays, he talks like a midnight infomercial about the stocks he recommends to buy or sell. It is not a stretch to mistake Jim as a door-to-door salesman peddling stock tips.

Investing Intelligently took the time to do some analysis, walking you through examples to back up his assertions. Here’s an excerpt:

The analysts are always full of crap with their buy/sell recommendations and I am sure any reader of this blog is aware of that. What is sad is that Cramer’s show is insanely popular. What is even more sad is that a friend of mine’s dad is an investment advisor and he watches Cramer every day after work AND TAKES NOTES.

Early in my investment career, I also watched Canada’s Report On Business (ROBTv) to see what analysts were recommending. I’ve stopped that habit for a long time now. However, for most people, analysts like Jim can come off as spammy as those pump-and-dump emails you receive in your junk mail. If you are depending on a bunch of people on television to take charge of your investment portfolio or retirement plans, why not take the same time and educate yourself first? May I recommend starting by reading Investing Intelligently’s analysis?