Cramer on Cramer

Since I started at TheStreet.com I have been surprised by the amount of negative attention that Jim Cramer, founder of the TheStreet.com and host of Mad Money show on CNBC gets.

Cramer has a huge fan following (his show is among the highest rated on CNBC) but he also has many, many people who spend time trying to prove he has no idea what he's talking about.

New York magazine (one of my favorite reads!) has an article written by Cramer himself that reads like part-manifesto to self, and part an attempt to answer some of the recent criticism about him.

Here's why Cramer says why his audience likes him:

Ultimately, it comes down to this: How many successful money managers would want to switch careers and take a huge pay cut in order to be on TV? I can think of only one who’s that out of his mind, and he’s writing this story. No one is trying to compete with me in this space, and that as much as anything has made Mad Money successful.

As to why he is such a polarizing figure:

I’m fearless. Or out of my mind. One way or the other, I think people appreciate the fact that every night I go out and put my head right back on the chopping block by firmly coming out for or against a stock. A lot of commentators shy away from making definitive pronouncements because it’s inherently risky. They’re afraid of picking a stock and then being really, demonstrably wrong. When you pick stocks in the public eye, especially when you do it five days a week like I do, getting some of them wrong is not a risk, it’s a certainty. Being wrong occasionally is simply the price of ever being right. You just have to be tough or foolish enough to tolerate the public humiliation. Another thing I do that no one else does is admit my mistakes. Every Thursday, I reserve a segment of Mad Money for owning up to the stocks I get wrong and trying to learn from my errors. When I blow a call, I joke that such bad stock-picking drives me to sipping cheap blended Scotch on my dirty linoleum floor at home; but that’s plain false. It’s a parquet floor, and it’s expensive single-malt Lagavulin.

I totally agree. It takes a lot of courage to put yourself out there everyday and take a position. Opinions draw reactions. They can be polarizing. But I think people want to hear from someone who isn't afraid to take a stand--one way or the other. It helps them make their decisions better.

If you are even the slightest bit curious about Jim Cramer, I would suggest you read this article. It's a long one but worth your time.