Cable news is a waste of resources. Reporters have seemingly limitless access to reputable sources, vast databases and state-of-the-art communication technology.

Sadly, all of these reporting tools are used to churn out sound bites, tidbits and fluff. Insight and analysis, if they can in fact be described as such, take place between commercial breaks and cutesy banter. Most often, the most relevant or interesting news stories are condensed to a sentence or two and run in the distracting crawl at the bottom of the screen.

The birth of 24-hour television news has exponentially accelerated media’s decline of credibility.

For years, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has done an excellent job poking fun and the sideshow that is cable news. Hopefully the war with CNBC will have a positive ripple effect and can help return traditional reporting practices back to the newsroom. However, an idea such as this one, which absolutely drips with hope and idealism, has no place in the corner.

The feud started in February, when CNBC analyst Rick Santelli was on the floor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange during his report and lashed out at President Barack Obama for supporting an idea to give government funds to citizens who had their homes foreclosed.

During his tirade, Santelli called people who had been foreclosed on “losers.”

Santelli’s assessment was in poor taste, even by my gutter-dwelling standards.

The Daily Show invited Santelli to come on the program and discuss it. Although Santelli agreed to be on the show, he canceled. In the wake of this, The Daily Show continued to assault CNBC.

Stewart derided the CNBC for not exposing the rampant corruption on Wall Street. Before we go any further, I will acknowledge the power the media has. Even if it’s not the intent, negative reporting can send the general public into a panic. When it comes to dealing with finances, the situation is even more delicate. However, the job of the media is to tell people what they don’t have time to find out themselves.

It’s not to take sides. If things are messed up, it’s the reporters’ job to say so and tell why.

Stewart chastised “Mad Money” host Jim Cramer for suggesting people to buy stock in Bear Stearns . He also criticized Cramer for saying the bottom could potentially fall out of the market.

Cramer took exception to Stewart’s criticism and agreed to be a guest.

He may as well have doused himself in gasoline and crawled through Hell.

Stewart embarrassed Cramer; it was hard to watch.

Part of the massacre took place in the form of viral clips, in which Cramer outlined how easy it is to manipulate a small corner of the market by either spreading rumors or doing things that while – not illegal, could certainly be described as immoral.

Several times during the interview, Cramer sheepishly slunk in his chair and looked towards his lap.

Towards the end of the interview, the notoriously brash and confident Cramer basically begged Stewart to believe he was a good guy.

Cramer said it best himself when he was referring to CNBC’s programming, “We have 17 hours a day to fill.”

Stewart suggested CNBC should scale back on trying to fill so many hours and focus on quality reporting rather than entertainment.

CNBC should be ashamed it took an entertainer to point that out.

Jordan Guinn can be reached at [email protected]