While much of the country has been captivated by the passing of pop star Michael Jackson, the scandal of South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford and turmoil in Iran and Iraq, business news has fallen off the front pages.
That was the observation CNBC "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer made on the June 26 broadcast of "Street Signs." Cramer noted that the front page of the June 26 New York Times was entirely devoid of business news.
"Remember when business was on the front page?" Cramer said. "We were on the front page for awhile. It was really frightening. It's still off - our whole, our whole - the whole stock market, the economy, we're all off the front page. We're no longer important because lovers, this guy Sanford - I'm not that familiar with his story. Those two people in Pennsylvania that were on the ‘Today' show and all those others."
Cramer did mention his close friendship with former New York State Gov. Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from office after a prostitution scandal. "Well, there's a lot of governor's lover stuff," Cramer said. "I guess Spitzer started it and he's my friend - full disclosure, my friend."
But is that just a sign of the times or has the present-day print media missed something larger? CNBC "Street Signs" host Erin Burnett pointed out that the June 26 issue of the Times with the King of Pop on it was going for more on eBay than the 2009 Inauguration Day issue featuring President Barack Obama.
"You can get the lover paper if you go to eBay, Jim," Burnett said. "OK - one bid. There's 19 bids but the top bid right now to get today's paper on Michael Jackson is $51 and a cent. Now - to compare, to get Obama's Inauguration Day New York Times, you would only have to pay $32 to get it on eBay, and I do want to caveat this with you can buy five for $75, so I don't know about that bid."
Cramer reacted by asking how many albums "has Obama sold?"
As of 4 p.m. ET on June 26, one bid had gone up to $132.50 that included the issue of the Times and the same day issue of The Los Angeles Times.
