Posted on 03/30/2011 6:40:37 AM PDT by Kaslin
The mainstream media has been reporting with glee that Glenn Beck may be leaving his Fox News show for a web-only show or his own cable station. Beck’s detractors are hoping he is imploding and this is the end of his superstardom in politics. There have been signs of friction between Beck and Fox News, and the network will not confirm whether his contract will be renewed in December.
The left is terrified of Beck. He has become one of the biggest leaders in the conservative movement. His enemies have responded by trying to force him out of his Fox News show. The far left group Color of Change organized a boycott of the show in 2009 after Beck called Obama a racist. The group claims that 300 advertisers have left, including Wal-Mart, Geico and Sprint. Liberal rabbis took out a full page ad in the Washington Post earlier this year asking Fox News to sanction Beck over critical statements he had made about them. Some Christian conservatives have kept quiet instead of defending him because of his Mormon faith. His theological differences with mainstream Christians occasionally surface on his television show.
The Glenn Beck Show has become one of the top cable news shows in just a few years. Unlike other prominent conservative talk show hosts, Beck educates his audience about our country’s history and philosophical foundations. He has figured out how to do so in a way that appeals to even our younger generations with their shorter attention spans. He wisely puts on many shows discussing Tea Party concerns that have become front and center over the past couple of years; hammering on the dangers of our expanding debt and deficits that risk economic doom if something does not change. He frequently lays into far left activists and exposes their seedy connections, unafraid to connect the dots when it comes to real conspiracies. His honest, folksy style of speaking with its sense of urgency, accompanied by unusual camera angles, invitingly draws viewers in. People from all walks of life easily identify with him due to his troubled past, which includes overcoming alcoholism, drug addiction and the suicide of his mother when he was only 13.
Lately, Beck’s shows have explored radical Islam, including whether Islamic prophecies coincide with Biblical endtime prophesies. Beck believes there is a possibility that the Antichrist foretold in the Bible will come from radical Islam. Considering around 80% of the U.S. population considers themselves to be Christians, and there are political overtones to Biblical end times prophesy, it makes sense for Beck to cover a topic that many of his viewers are interested in. Fox News viewers are even more likely to be Christians interested in these kinds of issues.
But Beck has become so wildly popular that every thing he says is a potential lightening rod. He has reached Sarah Palin levels of media scrutiny. There is now talk that his plain-talking style of covering controversial topics like radical Islam is hurting him and that his ratings have dropped drastically. Is there any truth to this? The big networks are down double digits, while cable networks have increased their viewers. Last year, Beck had the third most popular show on cable news, and just last week his ratings jumped up to second place, putting him ahead of Hannity and behind the number one O’Reilly Factor. And unlike O’Reilly and Hannity, Beck’s pre-evening time slot is not even a prime spot. O’Reilly has Beck on his show as a guest every Friday, no doubt realizing it helps his own ratings too.
Beck is even more successful outside of Fox News. Forbes Magazine has estimated that Beck’s web operations earn him $4 million per year, twice as much as the $2 million he earns from his Fox News show. He launched the website “The Blaze” last fall. It has more traffic than Fox News’ Fox Nation website.
Beck’s total earnings between March 2009 and March 2010 were $23 million according to Forbes. His radio show is carried by more than 350 stations, and he is the third-most-popular political radio talk show host after Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity. He regularly goes on live comedy tours around the nation. He has his own magazine, Fusion. He’s authored six New York Times bestsellers.
He launched the popular 9-12 Project in 2009 and quickly became one of the biggest faces of the Tea Party movement. Over 500,000 attended his “Restoring Honor” rally last August in Washington, D.C., dubbed “Beckapalooza” due to its draw. Unlike most conservative rallies, it wasn’t put on by a conglomerate organization, this was a rally where people came because Beck was the theme. Prominent groups like the National Rifle Association, Americans for Prosperity, FreedomWorks and Tea Party Patriots supported the rally. It raised $5.5 million, which went to the veterans’ charity Special Operations Warrior Foundation after costs.
Critics of Beck reveal their desperation at finding a real flaw in him by trying to have it both ways in their attacks on him. They do not like the way he has been able to present the historical and philosophical background underlying political issues in an appealing way that doesn’t bore the average person. But at the same time, they attack his intelligence. They claim he has sold out and gone mainstream. Beck’s website The Blaze criticized investigative filmmaker James O’Keefe for selectively releasing portions of incriminating videotapes of figures on the left. Beck hired former Huffington Post CEO Betsy Morgan to run The Blaze. Yet on the other hand, critics claim he is part of the fringe right for attacking radical Islam, discussing Biblical end times prophecy, and calling Obama a racist.
The efforts to ruin Beck will not be successful. The boycott isn’t hurting Fox News. Those advertisers affected have simply moved to other shows on the network. The controversies Beck has brought while at Fox News are just enough to help the network, not hinder it. Beck is covering mildly controversial issues, he is not behaving like Charlie Sheen or David Duke. The fact he is Mormon means he is not the perfect conservative talk show host for most of Fox News’ base, but he is the only one on the network willing to cover subjects that desperately need to be aired on a popular network. Beck is charismatic, tireless and always coming up with creative new ideas that reflect the times. If Beck and Fox News cannot agree on renewing his contract, Beck will have no problem expanding his empire and drawing viewers elsewhere.
Good analysis of Glenn Beck.
“Beck hired former Huffington Post CEO Betsy Morgan to run The Blaze”
I did not know that. Unless she has had a change of heart about the marxist messiah in the White house and socialism in general, I do not understand this hire.
While Beck is clearly very popular, I question whether he is making any money for Fox. The sponsor boycott program that was successfully launched some time ago has left Fox with a bunch of guys selling gold as their only sponsors for Beck’s time slot. If Beck leaves that will be at least one of the key reasons for his departure.
I don’t watch Beck as his program is not on my schedule and I only occasionally catch him on TV or Sirius.
But the guy is everywhere and apart from his quivering lip crap, I really like his programs.
The detractors are complete blithering idiots if they think his star is falling.
I mean how can a guy draw some 500,000 people to D.C. on a Hot, Balmy August day and suddenly find himself in free fall?
He isn’t in free fall and a whispering campaign isn’t going to bring it about.
Could it be because he is working on “one heart at a time”.
It has been working for the pro life movement.
I recall when The Blaze first launched, Glenn said that he hired a lot of people who were not conservatives, because he felt they would scrutinize the stories being published.
Ex-Huffpo CEO Betsy Morgan on What Drew Her to Glenn Beck:
Ex-Huffpo CEO Betsy Morgan on What Drew Her to Glenn Beck:
Ex-Huffpo CEO Betsy Morgan on What Drew Her to Glenn Beck:
He was funny as hell, preachy but not over bearing.
I can only take a few minutes of beck, too much gloom and doom.
He raises some good points, and mostly I agree with his views, but my brain needs a little lightness not "the end is near".
My 401k is now a 101K, I eat smaller portions of dog food, and I know that 2012 is the end of the world {according to someone, I'm sure}, but I still want to laugh and enjoy life.
Beck to me is like a fine Scotch, with just a little, it's great, anymore makes my head spin.
Yeah, gold has been a losing investment for advertisers for some time now. Those companies aren’t making money hand over fist.
/s
Look Roger Ailes personally asked Glenn to come over to Fox News from CNN HLN. If Roger Ailes or Rupert Murdock don’t like the product that Glenn is putting out then they can FIRE him. Don’t see it happening.
She maybe a somewhat of a "void" and just gets the business angle and i.e his desire to create a brand much like Turner and Oprah did..
Funny thing is even the most liberal seem to have an espistomolical conversion as they work for him and the truth hits them in the head like a frying pan...
We must support Glenn at every opportunity...every one of our common enemies are 'gunning' for him.
Glen Beck ia always right on. The liars hate him.
audiences for ALL politically themed programming...cable news, radio talk shows, etc.....tends to fall-off after the end of an election cycle. MSM is hoping we’ll all buy into the spin that this is not a normal cyclical phenomenon.
If he wouldn’t, I am sure he would be off by now
As we say in the South, "hit dog hollers". The fact that they are "gunning" for him shows he's getting to them.....
They hate him and they also hate Sarah Palin
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