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Each broadcast usually began with a brief, scripted monologue by Beck, in which he gave his analysis of the top story of the day. This was usually followed by an interview with a correspondent, who continued the discussion with his or her opinions on the matter.
Each broadcast usually began with a brief, scripted monologue by Beck, in which he gave his analysis of the top story of the day. This was usually followed by an interview with a correspondent, who continued the discussion with his or her opinions on the matter.


The script, however, is poorly written and often times incorrect. Glenn Beck the man actually hosting the show is actually of a low intellect. Many of his statements are pompous and incorrect.
The script, however, is poorly written and often times incorrect. Glenn Beck is actually hosting the show and is actually of a low intellect. Many of his statements are pompous and incorrect.


Although the original concept of the show combined elements of late-night talk shows (e.g., satirical comedy bits and frequent celebrity interviews) and cable news, it gradually came to center on the latter format and to use a more news-oriented style.
Although the original concept of the show combined elements of late-night talk shows (e.g., satirical comedy bits and frequent celebrity interviews) and cable news, it gradually came to center on the latter format and to use a more news-oriented style.

Revision as of 16:35, 6 October 2011

Glenn Beck
File:Glenn Beck Banner.jpg
Glenn Beck FoxNews.com banner
GenrePolitical commentary
Presented byGlenn Beck
Country of originUnited States
Production
Running time60 minutes
Original release
NetworkHLN (January 17, 2006 – October 16, 2008)
Fox News Channel (January 19, 2009 – June 30, 2011)
Release2006 (2006)

Glenn Beck was a United States cable news show hosted by Glenn Beck that aired weekdays on Fox News Channel. The program, originally on CNN Headline News (now HLN), premiered on FNC on January 19, 2009 and aired weekdays at 5:00 PM EST.[1] On April 6, 2011, Fox News and Mercury Radio Arts, Beck's production company, released a joint news statement saying that Beck would "transition off of his daily program" on Fox News later in the year.[2] The program's final episode aired on June 30, 2011.[3][4]

Overview

Each broadcast usually began with a brief, scripted monologue by Beck, in which he gave his analysis of the top story of the day. This was usually followed by an interview with a correspondent, who continued the discussion with his or her opinions on the matter.

The script, however, is poorly written and often times incorrect. Glenn Beck is actually hosting the show and is actually of a low intellect. Many of his statements are pompous and incorrect.

Although the original concept of the show combined elements of late-night talk shows (e.g., satirical comedy bits and frequent celebrity interviews) and cable news, it gradually came to center on the latter format and to use a more news-oriented style.

Headline News era

The Friday broadcasts were devoted to a full-hour interview under the label Honest Questions. People interviewed included Ron Paul, Al Sharpton, Janice Dickinson, Larry King, Nancy Grace, Benjamin Netanyahu, Anderson Cooper, Jeff Foxworthy, and Ben Stein.

Special programs

Special programming included Exposed: The Extremist Agenda, Exposed: The Climate of Fear, and a week-long series titled America's Addiction. These programs tended to be serious examinations of the subjects without any of Beck's humorous asides.

Exposed: The Extremist Agenda

The Extremist Agenda, a special about Islamic extremism, aired in November 2006.

Exposed: The Climate of Fear

The May 2, 2007 edition of his Glenn Beck on Headline News was a "special report" entitled, "Exposed: The Climate of Fear". In his opening remarks, Beck said, "Welcome to 'Exposed: The Climate of Fear.' I want you to know right up front, this is not a balanced look at global warming. It is the other side of the climate debate that you don't hear anywhere. Yes, Al Gore, there is another credible side."[5]

Exposed: America's Broke

Beck aired a special called "Exposed: America's Broke" during the week on September 18, 2008. This special dealt with the national debt in America and what Beck saw as America's debt of leadership as well.

Exposed: The End of Oil

This last Exposed special hosted by Beck aired the week after America's Broke and focused on the economic effects of not using the resources in America (offshore drilling, ANWR oil, etc.) before the U.S. can find an alternative source of fuel.

Fox News era

Glenn Beck's self-titled television show on Fox News Channel premiered January 19, 2009, with his move resulting in a significant viewership increase.[6][7][8][9][10][11][12] Beck's format included the use of diagrams and visual aids. His program typically began with a 15-20 minute monologue.

His last show on Fox News aired on June 30, 2011. During the last episode, Beck recounted the accomplishments of the show and the topics it discussed.

Criticism of White House officials

Van Jones

Van Jones resigned from his position as Special Advisor to the president in September 2009 after becoming a major subject of news stories on programs such as Glenn Beck, after lesser known conservative groups had first aired concerns as early as April.[13][14][15] The early critics received coverage from Fox News,[16] notably from Fox commentator Glenn Beck, who featured Jones on 14 episodes of his show.[17][18] They forced Van Jones in July and August 2009 to defend his past including membership in a socialist group and support for Mumia Abu-Jamal, a death row prisoner convicted of killing a police officer.[19][20] Editors credited Beck with his "first scalp", noting that the Huffington Post expressed continued support for Jones, singling out the efforts of Glenn Beck to force his resignation, though Beck was not the first to voice concerns about the appointment.[21][22][23]

Anita Dunn

Anita Dunn, as interim White House Communications Director, made critical statements of Fox News.[24] Following her statements, Beck aired a clip, from June 5, 2009, of Dunn giving a speech to high school students.[25] She stated "two of my favorite political philosophers, Mao Zedong and Mother Teresa -- not often coupled with each other -- but the two people that I turn to most to basically deliver a simple point, which is, 'You're going to make choices, you're going to challenge, you're going to say, why not?, you're going to figure out how to do things that have never been done before." Beck was critical of Dunn as he questioned what he alleged was a pattern of communist sympathy.

ACORN

Within days of its premiere, Beck began using his program on Fox News to criticize the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).[26] In September 2009, the website BigGovernment.com published hidden-camera recordings in which Hannah Giles posed as a prostitute and James O'Keefe sometimes posed as a pimp in order to elicit responses from employees of ACORN. According to a New York Times reporter, Giles and O'Keefe "caught ACORN's low-level employees in five cities sounding eager to assist with tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution."[27]

The day of their release, the videos were also aired on Glenn Beck. After the release of the first video, Beck began to devote large portions of his program to exposing the alleged "underhanded dealings" of ACORN.[28]

The ACORN organization threatened a lawsuit against Fox, which aired Beck's showing of secretly taped videos. ACORN claimed the videos to be doctored and the story fabricated. ACORN announced "It is clear that the videos doctored, edited and in no way the result of the fabricated story being portrayed by the conservative activist filmmaker O'Keefe and his partner in crime. And in fact, a crime it was — our lawyers believe a felony. And we will be taking legal action against FOX and their co-conspirators."[29]

The story initially had a punitive effect on the organization. In September 2009, the United States House and Senate voted to exclude ACORN from federal funding. Funding was later restored as a result of a court order finding that the Congressional action violated the U.S. Constitution's bill of attainder clause.[30] [31][32]

A subsequent independent investigation by former Massachusetts Attorney General Scott Harshbarger and commissioned by ACORN[33] found no "pattern of intentional, illegal conduct by ACORN staff; in fact, there is no evidence that action, illegal or otherwise, was taken by any ACORN employee on behalf of the videographers. Instead, the videos represent the byproduct of ACORN’s longstanding management weaknesses, including a lack of training, a lack of procedures, and a lack of on-site supervision." The report further found that the videotapes aired on Beck's and other Fox News programs, "appear to have been edited, in some cases substantially, including the insertion of a substitute voice over for significant portions of Mr. O’Keefe’s and Ms. Giles’s comments, which makes it difficult to determine the questions to which ACORN employees are responding." [34]

The Revolutionary Holocaust

On Friday, January 22, 2010, Beck produced his first documentary, The Revolutionary Holocaust: Live Free Or Die.

Reception

"Beck’s Fox News show intersperses history with weeping laments, melodramatic calls to faith and vehement attacks on 'progressives.' He also mixes in campy stage props and laughs straight from the Morning Zoo playbook. One moment, he is giving an impassioned plea for the would-be builder of Park51 to build elsewhere; the next moment, he is discussing possible names for a hypothetical Islam-friendly gay bar next door (such as) 'Turban Cowboy', (or) 'You Mecca Me Hot.'"

New York Times Magazine [35]

Beck's shows have been described as a "mix of moral lessons, outrage and an apocalyptic view of the future ... capturing the feelings of an alienated class of Americans."[36] Beck has referred to himself as an entertainer,[36] a rodeo clown,[36] and identified with Howard Beale "When he came out of the rain and he was like, none of this makes any sense. I am that guy."[37]

Beck's style of expressing his candid opinions have helped make his shows successful,[38] but have also resulted in protest and advertiser boycotts. In late July 2009, Beck argued that reparations and social justice were driving President Obama's agenda, discussing issues of diversity and institutional racism.[39] That week in response to the Henry Gates controversy, Beck stated that Obama has repeatedly exposed himself as having, "a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture." He concluded that, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist."[40] These remarks drew criticism from MSNBC commentators, the NAACP, and resulted in as many as 80[citation needed] advertisers boycotting both Beck's show and FNC.[40][41] Beck later mentioned that he regretted calling Barack Obama a racist, saying that, "I have a big fat mouth sometimes".[42]

Time describes Beck as "the new populist superstar of Fox News" saying it is easier to see a set of attitudes rather than a specific ideology, noting his criticism of Wall Street, yet defending bonuses to AIG and denouncing conspiracies against FEMA but warning against indoctrination of children by the AmeriCorps program. Time concludes that "what unites Beck's disparate themes is a sense of siege" but notes that Beck describes his (radio) program as "the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment." [43]

According to Nielsen ratings, Beck had one of the highest rated 5PM cable news shows as of March 2009,[44] consistently beating his competition's combined total viewership.[45][46] Beck was up 96% in 2009, from Fox's previous year 5 p.m. time slot.[47] However, the show's ratings for the month of January 2011 were 39% lower than their January 2010 number, representing the steepest decline of any cable news show.[48] A significant factor in Beck's overall ratings drop is his viewership among the prized 25- to 54-year-old advertising demographic, which declined by almost one-half in 2010.[49]

Boycotts

After Beck accused President Obama of being a racist, Color of Change, an online advocacy group for Black issues, urged advertisers to boycott Beck's program.[50] As of September 21, 2010, a total of 296 advertisers have asked that their commercials not be shown on Fox News during Beck’s programming [51] including Wal-Mart, CVS, Best Buy, GMAC-owned Ally Bank, Travelocity, LexisNexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter & Gamble, Verizon Wireless, HSBC, Progressive Insurance and GEICO.[50][52][53][54][55] Fox News has also had a difficult time selling commercials on The O’Reilly Factor and Fox and Friends when Beck appears as a guest on those shows as well as other Fox News shows. In the TV sales world Beck’s show has become known as “empty calories,” meaning that he draws great ratings, but he's toxic for ad sales.[56] Fox issued a statement indicating that overall revenue had not been lost as a result of the boycott, as most companies had shifted to other Fox programs.[57] UPS Stores has decided to temporarily stop advertising on Fox News as a whole.[58][59] Beck said that he was unapologetic for the remark and stated that the President is not above criticism.[60]

In pop culture

In the South Park episode "Dances with Smurfs," Eric Cartman parodies Glenn Beck multiple times, particularly when Cartman repeatedly says, "I'm just asking questions," a Glenn Beck catchphrase.[61] His show's intro and set are similar to Beck's. On the November 16 show, Beck acknowledged the parody, noting the use of chalkboards, crying on TV and questioning the President saying, "You haven't lived until South Park has done an entire episode on you."[62]

See also

References

  1. ^ Glenn Beck's FNC Show to Begin Jan. 19, Mediabistro.com, December 1, 2008
  2. ^ Mirkinson, Jack. "Glenn Beck To 'Transition Off' Fox News Program". Huffington Post. Retrieved April 6, 2011.
  3. ^ "Glenn Beck's Final Show". News Corp. June 30, 2011.
  4. ^ Glenn Beck's Last Day On Fox News: June 30
  5. ^ Transcript of Exposed: The Climate of Fear
  6. ^ Shea, Danny (January 30, 2009). Jane Velez-Mitchell Beating Glenn Beck's Ratings On HLN "Jane Velez-Mitchell Beating Glenn Beck's Ratings On HLN". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2010. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
  7. ^ Gold, Matea (March 6, 2009). "Fox News' Glenn Beck strikes ratings gold by challenging Barack Obama]". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  8. ^ Ariens, Chris (March 11, 2009). "Beck Tops Hannity; Second Biggest Draw in Cable News". Media Bistro. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  9. ^ Big Beck: Goes over 3 million viewers, beats O’Reilly in demo: Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, August 26, 2009], TV by the numbers, August 27, 2009
  10. ^ Weprin, Alex (September 11, 2009). "Cable News Ratings: 'Beck' Boosted By Healthcare Address". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  11. ^ Glenn Beck Has #1 Cable News Show On Day Before Van Jones Resignation, mediaite.com, September 4, 2009.
  12. ^ Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 TV by the numbers, December 17, 2009.
  13. ^ New York Times Embattled Van Jones Quits, but 'Czar' Debates Rage On By MICHAEL BURNHAM September 9, 2009
  14. ^ Will a 'red' help blacks go green?, WorldNet Daily, April 12, 2009
  15. ^ Phil Kerpen, 6 September 2009, Fox News.com, How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next
  16. ^ AlterNet, 8 September 2009, Big Business's Hidden Hand in the Smear Job on Van Jones
  17. ^ Weigel, David (2009-09-04). "Far-Right Site Gains Influence in Obama Era". The Washington Independent. Retrieved 2009-09-08. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  18. ^ Sarah Wheaton (2009-09-06). "White House Adviser on 'Green Jobs' Resigns". New York Times.
  19. ^ Politico, 7 September 2009, Van Jones resigns amid controversy
  20. ^ Wilson, Scott (September 7, 2009). "In Adviser's Resignation, Vetting Bites Obama Again". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. pp. A02. Retrieved September 7, 2009. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  21. ^ Huffington Post, 6 September 2009, Glenn Beck Gets First Scalp: Van Jones Resigns
  22. ^ Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post, September 7, 2009, "Thank You, Glenn Beck!"
  23. ^ Glenn Beck Draws First Blood in Czar War Our Editors Pick the Best of What's Hot on the Web Web poll shows 86% support the resignation, and 75% support Glenn Beck
  24. ^ Horowitz, Jason (October 14, 2009). "Newly Out In Front for White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  25. ^ "Beck falsely claimed Anita Dunn "worships" "her hero" Mao Zedong" Media Matters for America October 15, 2009 10:40 pm ET
  26. ^ "Is This How the Post-Racial Obama Administration Begins?". Fox News. 2009-01-20.
  27. ^ Shane, Scott (2009-09-19). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-26. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  28. ^ "ACORN Corruption Caught on Tape". Fox News. 2009-09-10.
  29. ^ Scandal-Plagued ACORN Threatens Lawsuit September 15, 2009
  30. ^ http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1209/30504.html
  31. ^ "House Votes to Block ACORN Funding". NBC Dallas-Ft Worth. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
  32. ^ Taylor, Andrew (2009-09-14). "Senate votes to deny funds to ACORN". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  33. ^ http://www.proskauer.com/files/uploads/report2.pdf
  34. ^ http://www.proskauer.com/files/uploads/report2.pdf
  35. ^ Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". New York Times Magazine. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  36. ^ a b c "Fox News's Mad, Apocalyptic, Tearful Rising Star". The New York Times. 2009-03-31. Retrieved 2009-07-31. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  37. ^ Stossel, John (2009-06-10). "Glenn Beck on Glenn Beck". 20/20. ABC News. Retrieved 2009-07-31. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  38. ^ "Glenn Beck and Simon & Schuster Launch Wide-Ranging Global Publishing Partnership". Reuters. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  39. ^ Beck, Glen (2009-07-23). "What's Driving President Obama's Agenda?". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  40. ^ a b Bauder, David (2009-07-28). "Fox's Glenn Beck: President Obama is a racist". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-07-29. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  41. ^ Krakauer, Steve (2009-07-29). "Glenn Beck's 'Obama is Racist' Comment Fuels MSNBC and Beyond". Mediaite. Retrieved 2009-07-29. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  42. ^ "Glenn Beck Regrets Calling Obama Racist: 'I Have A Big, Fat Mouth' (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. August 30, 2010. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  43. ^ Poniewozik, James (2009-04-08). "Glenn Beck: The Fears of a Clown". Time magazine. Retrieved 2009-07-31. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  44. ^ "Glenn Beck, A Ratings Hit for Fox, Takes His Show to the People".
  45. ^ http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/08/25/cable-news-ratings-for-monday-august-24-2009/25374
  46. ^ http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/
  47. ^ State of the News Media: 2009 Summary Essay Project for Excellence in Journalism
  48. ^ Knickerbocker, Brad (February 12, 2011). "Why is Glenn Beck freaking out over Egypt and a caliphate?". The Christian Science Monitor. Boston. Retrieved February 16, 2011. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |separator= ignored (help)
  49. ^ "The Decline of Glenn Beck".
  50. ^ a b Bauder, David (August 24, 2009), "Attack on Obama riles Beck's advertisers", Yahoo News
  51. ^ Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  52. ^ Ariens, Chris (July 28, 2009). "Glenn Beck's 'Racist' Comment Sends Advertisers Elsewhere". TVNewser. Retrieved 2009-08-12. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  53. ^ Hein, Kenneth (July 12, 2009). "Fox News' "Glenn Beck" loses advertisers". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  54. ^ "Wal-mart, CVS, Best Buy, GMAC Among 8 Major Companies To Pull Ads From Glenn Beck Show". August 17, 2009.
  55. ^ Brownworth, Victoria A. (August 20, 2009), "Woodstock Nation", Bay Area Reporter
  56. ^ Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  57. ^ Clarke, Conor (August 25, 2009). "Why Hasn't the Glenn Beck Boycott Hurt Fox News?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  58. ^ Bauder, David (August 25, 2009). "Attack on Obama riles Beck's advertisers". The Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  59. ^ Wasserman, Todd (August 25, 2009). "Glenn Beck Protester Eyes Fox Re-ups". Brandweek. Retrieved 2009-08-27. I know for at least one, UPS, they said 'We're done with Fox.'
  60. ^ Huff, Richard (July 29, 2009), "Fox News Channel pundit Glenn Beck defends his comments that President Barack Obama is a 'racist'", Daily News (New York)
  61. ^ [1]
  62. ^ [2]
Preceded by Fox News Channel Weekday Lineup
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM
Succeeded by