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The Glenn Beck Program

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This article is about the television program. For the radio program, see Glenn Beck Radio Program. For the Internet television network, see TheBlaze TV.
The Glenn Beck Program
Title card
StarringGlenn Beck
Country of originUnited States
Production
Production locationDallas
Running time60 minutes
Production companyMercury Radio Arts
Original release
NetworkHLN
Release2006 (2006) –
2008 (2008)
NetworkFox News
Release2009 (2009) –
2011 (2011)
NetworkTheBlaze
Release2011 (2011) –
present (present)

Glenn (previously titled The Glenn Beck Program) is a news talk and political opinion show on TheBlaze hosted by Glenn Beck. It is produced and recorded at TheBlaze studios in Dallas, TX. The show originally ran on CNN Headline News from 2006 to 2008 (now HLN) and moved to the Fox News Channel in 2009. Beck's program departed Fox News on June 30, 2011, with Beck announcing the creation of an online only network, later to become TheBlaze, that would air his television show among other programming.[1]

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.

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."[2] Media Matters for America described it as "Glenn Beck's Climate of Distortion" which "rehashed several falsehoods and misleading talking points", including the claim that the so-called Oregon Petition had credibility.[3]

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 lack of competent leadership.

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.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] Beck's format included the use of diagrams and visual aids, most notably a rolling chalkboard. 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

Further information: Van Jones § Resignation

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.[11][12] The early critics received coverage from Fox News,[13] notably from Fox commentator Glenn Beck, who featured Jones on 14 episodes of his show.[14][15] 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.[16][17] Editors credited Beck with his "first scalp", noting that the Huffington Post expressed continued support for Jones, singling out the efforts of Beck to force his resignation, though Beck was not the first to voice concerns about the appointment nor did he call for Jones' resignation.[18][19][20]

Anita Dunn

Further information: Anita Dunn § Controversies as White House Communications Director

Anita Dunn, as interim White House Communications Director, made critical statements of Fox News.[21] Following her statements, Beck aired a clip, from June 5, 2009, of Dunn giving a speech to high school students. 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.[22]

ACORN

Further information: ACORN 2009 undercover videos controversy

Within days of its premiere, Beck began using his program on Fox News to warn the public about the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN).[23]

In September 2009, the website BigGovernment published heavily edited hidden-camera recordings, although the full video recordings were also made available, in which Hannah Giles posed as a prostitute and James O'Keefe posed as her boyfriend in order to elicit sympathy and responses from employees of ACORN. 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 publicizing the alleged "underhanded dealings" of ACORN.[24] The story immediately had a disparaging effect on the organization, with one reporter from the New York Times proclaiming that the videos "caught ACORN's low-level employees in five cities sounding eager to assist with tax evasion, human smuggling and child prostitution."[25] Politicians quickly distanced themselves from the organization, and within days both the United States House and Senate voted to exclude ACORN from federal funding, (although funding was later restored after the group had disbanded as a result of a court order finding that the congressional action violated the U.S. Constitution's bill of attainder clause).[26][27][28] On 13 August 2010, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reversed and remanded on the grounds that only 10 percent of ACORN's funding was federal and that did not constitute "punishment".[29][30] The organization was forced to disband amid the firestorm of controversy due to lack of funding.[31]

Subsequent independent investigations by multiple law enforcement agencies including state attorneys general and district attorneys determined that the ACORN workers had committed no criminal activity and that the videos were actually "heavily edited" to present material out of context and create a misleading impression of activities.[32][33][34][35][36][37][38]

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.'

— The New York Times Magazine[39]

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."[40] Beck has referred to himself as an entertainer,[40] a rodeo clown,[40] 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."[41]

Beck's style of expressing his candid opinions have helped make his shows successful,[42] 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.[43] 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."[44] 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.[44][45] Beck later mentioned that he regretted calling Barack Obama a racist, saying that, "I have a big fat mouth sometimes".[46]

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 Glenn Beck Radio Program as "the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment."[47]

According to Nielsen ratings, Beck had one of the highest rated 5PM cable news shows as of March 2009,[48] consistently beating his competition's combined total viewership.[49][50] Beck was up 96% in 2009, from Fox's previous year 5 p.m. time slot.[51] 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.[52] 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.[53]

Boycotts

After Beck accused President Obama of being a racist, Color of Change, an online civil rights advocacy group, urged advertisers to boycott Beck's program.[54] As of September 21, 2010, a total of 296 advertisers had asked that their commercials not be shown on Fox News during Beck's programming[55] including Wal-Mart, CVS Caremark, Best Buy, Ally Financial, Travelocity, LexisNexis-owned Lawyers.com, Procter & Gamble, Verizon Wireless, HSBC, Progressive Corporation and GEICO.[54][56][57][58][59] 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.[55] 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.[60] UPS Stores has decided to temporarily stop advertising on Fox News as a whole.[61][62] Beck said that he was unapologetic for the remark and stated that the President is not above criticism.[63]

In pop culture

In the South Park episode "Dances with Smurfs," Eric Cartman parodies Beck multiple times, particularly when Cartman repeatedly says, "I'm just asking questions," a Glenn Beck catchphrase.[64] 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."[65]

TheBlaze era

On December 15, 2011, Beck moved his family and TheBlaze TV broadcasting from New York City to a suburb of Dallas, Texas, Las Colinas.[66]

References

  1. ^ "Quick Links". CNN.
  2. ^ Transcript of Exposed: The Climate of Fear
  3. ^ Dietz, Rob; Henehan, Kathleen (8 May 2007). "Exposed: Glenn Beck's Climate of Distortion". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  4. ^ Shea, Danny (January 30, 2009). "Jane Velez-Mitchell Beating Glenn Beck's Ratings On HLN". The Huffington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  5. ^ Gold, Matea (March 6, 2009). "Fox News' Glenn Beck strikes ratings gold by challenging Barack Obama". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  6. ^ Ariens, Chris (March 11, 2009). "Beck Tops Hannity; Second Biggest Draw in Cable News". Media Bistro. Archived from the original on March 15, 2009. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  7. ^ 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
  8. ^ Weprin, Alex (September 11, 2009). "Cable News Ratings: 'Beck' Boosted By Healthcare Address". Broadcasting & Cable. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  9. ^ Glenn Beck Has #1 Cable News Show On Day Before Van Jones Resignation, mediaite.com, September 4, 2009.
  10. ^ Cable News Ratings for Wednesday, December 16, 2009 TV by the numbers, December 17, 2009.
  11. ^ New York Times Embattled Van Jones Quits, but 'Czar' Debates Rage On By MICHAEL BURNHAM September 9, 2009
  12. ^ Phil Kerpen, 6 September 2009, Fox News.com, How Van Jones Happened and What We Need to Do Next
  13. ^ AlterNet, 8 September 2009, Big Business's Hidden Hand in the Smear Job on Van Jones
  14. ^ Weigel, David (2009-09-04). "Far-Right Site Gains Influence in Obama Era". The Washington Independent. Archived from the original on 2009-09-08. Retrieved 2009-09-08.
  15. ^ Sarah Wheaton (2009-09-06). "White House Adviser on 'Green Jobs' Resigns". New York Times.
  16. ^ Politico, 7 September 2009, Van Jones resigns amid controversy
  17. ^ Wilson, Scott; Eilperin, Juliet (September 7, 2009). "In Adviser's Resignation, Vetting Bites Obama Again". The Washington Post. washingtonpost.com. p. A02. Retrieved September 7, 2009.
  18. ^ Huffington Post, 6 September 2009, Glenn Beck Gets First Scalp: Van Jones Resigns
  19. ^ Arianna Huffington, Huffington Post, September 7, 2009, "Thank You, Glenn Beck!"
  20. ^ 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
  21. ^ Horowitz, Jason (October 14, 2009). "Newly Out In Front for White House". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 28, 2010.
  22. ^ The Glenn Beck Program, Fox News Channel. October 18, 2009. Transcript at FoxNews.com.
  23. ^ "Is This How the Post-Racial Obama Administration Begins?". Fox News. 2009-01-20.
  24. ^ "ACORN Corruption Caught on Tape". Fox News. 2009-09-10.
  25. ^ Shane, Scott (2009-09-19). "A Political Gadfly Lampoons the Left via YouTube". New York Times. Retrieved 2009-09-26.
  26. ^ "Judge restores ACORN funding - POLITICO". Politico. 11 December 2009.
  27. ^ "House Votes to Block ACORN Funding". NBC Dallas-Ft Worth. 2009-09-17. Retrieved 2009-11-22.
  28. ^ Taylor, Andrew (2009-09-14). "Senate votes to deny funds to ACORN". Associated Press. Archived from the original on September 23, 2009. Retrieved 2009-09-15.
  29. ^ "Federal Court Rules Against Acorn". Associated Press: 14 August 2010.
  30. ^ "ACORN v. United States". ACORN v. United States. Harvard Law Review. 20 January 2011. Retrieved 23 July 2015.
  31. ^ ACORN disbanding because of money woes, scandal; The Baltimore Sun; March 23, 2010
  32. ^ An Independent Governance Assessment of ACORN Archived 2010-09-08 at the Wayback Machine, December 7, 2009
  33. ^ "ACORN Workers Cleared Of Illegality By Outside Probe"
  34. ^ "ACORN and the Ethics of Leadership", Atlantic Monthly, December 8, 2009
  35. ^ ACORN Investigation Results Archived December 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, The Nonprofit Quarterly
  36. ^ "Damaging Brooklyn ACORN Sting Video Ruled 'Heavily Edited' - No Charges to Be Filed", New York Magazine; March 2, 2010
  37. ^ Newman, Andrew (2010-03-01). "Advice to Fake Pimp Was No Crime, Prosecutor Says". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 25 March 2010. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  38. ^ Madde, Mike (2010-03-01). "Brooklyn prosecutors clear local ACORN office". Salon.com. Retrieved 2010-03-07.
  39. ^ Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". The New York Times Magazine.
  40. ^ a b c Carter, Bill; Stelter, Brian (2009-03-31). "Fox News's Mad, Apocalyptic, Tearful Rising Star". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  41. ^ Stossel, John (2009-06-10). "Glenn Beck on Glenn Beck". 20/20. ABC News. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  42. ^ "Glenn Beck and Simon & Schuster Launch Wide-Ranging Global Publishing Partnership". Reuters. 2009-05-04. Retrieved 2009-07-13. [dead link]
  43. ^ Beck, Glen (2009-07-23). "What's Driving President Obama's Agenda?". Fox News. Retrieved 2009-08-01.
  44. ^ a b Bauder, David (2009-07-28). "Fox's Glenn Beck: President Obama is a racist". Associated Press. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  45. ^ Krakauer, Steve (2009-07-29). "Glenn Beck's 'Obama is Racist' Comment Fuels MSNBC and Beyond". Mediaite. Retrieved 2009-07-29.
  46. ^ Rose, Adam J. (August 30, 2010). "Glenn Beck Regrets Calling Obama Racist: 'I Have A Big, Fat Mouth' (VIDEO)". Huffingtonpost.com. Retrieved August 30, 2010.
  47. ^ Poniewozik, James (2009-04-08). "Glenn Beck: The Fears of a Clown". Time magazine. Archived from the original on April 11, 2009. Retrieved 2009-07-31.
  48. ^ "Glenn Beck, A Ratings Hit for Fox, Takes His Show to the People".
  49. ^ "Private Site".
  50. ^ "home | Mediabistro".
  51. ^ State of the News Media: 2009 Summary Essay Project for Excellence in Journalism
  52. ^ 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.
  53. ^ Downie, James (3 March 2011). "The Decline of Glenn Beck". The New Republic.
  54. ^ a b Bauder, David (August 24, 2009), "Attack on Obama riles Beck's advertisers", Yahoo News
  55. ^ a b Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". New York Times. Retrieved 29 September 2010.
  56. ^ Edwards, Jim (August 12, 2009). "Glenn Beck's 'Racist' Comment Sends Advertisers Elsewhere". CBS News.
  57. ^ Hein, Kenneth (July 12, 2009). "Fox News' "Glenn Beck" loses advertisers". Reuters. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  58. ^ Ortenzi, Tj (August 17, 2009). "Wal-mart, CVS, Best Buy, GMAC Among 8 Major Companies To Pull Ads From Glenn Beck Show". Huffington Post.
  59. ^ Brownworth, Victoria A. (August 20, 2009), "Woodstock Nation", Bay Area Reporter
  60. ^ Clarke, Conor (August 25, 2009). "Why Hasn't the Glenn Beck Boycott Hurt Fox News?". The Atlantic. Retrieved 2009-08-26.
  61. ^ Bauder, David (August 25, 2009). "Attack on Obama riles Beck's advertisers". The Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 30, 2009. Retrieved 2009-08-27.
  62. ^ 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.'
  63. ^ 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)
  64. ^ "Glenn Beck: Time to Re-found America - Glenn Beck".
  65. ^ Video on YouTube
  66. ^ "Glenn non-sarcastically bids NYC adieu". Mercury Radio Arts. 2011-12-15.
Preceded by Fox News Channel Weekday Lineup
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. 		Succeeded by
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