What is your feeling about Glenn Beck? Does he push Mormonism?
Glenn Beck's Obamassault
'Green' Aide - 'Color of Change' Boycott Leader Says
FOX Host ?Trying to Change Subject?
Posted August 24, 2009 8:45 PM
by Mark Silva
This may help explain why President Barack Obama is so -- as the producer for FOX News' O'Reilly Factor puts it -- "thin-skinned'' about FOX News.
FOX's Glenn Beck used his popular program today to "attack the background of Van Jones, a White House environmental ad visor who co-founded an African American political advocacy group that has organized an advertising boycott of his program,'' as the L.A. Times' Matea Gold notes in Show Tracker.
This is the Beck who, one morning on FOX & Friends, accused Obama of "a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture."
In protest, the group, "Color of Change,'' has promoted an advertising boycott and says it has secured commitments from 36 companies pledging not to advertise on Beck's afternoon show, with a growing audience of more than 2 million viewers.
Beck "spent a large share of his program suggesting that Jones, who co-founded Color of Change in 2005, is a radical,'' Gold writes. "During a six-minute biographical profile, set to ominous music, Beck said Jones was twice arrested for political protests and has described himself as a "rowdy black nationalist.'''
"Why is it that such a committed revolutionary has made it so high into the Obama administration as one of his chief advisers?" Beck asked.
Jones serves as a special ad visor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality. James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change, says Jones has not been active with the group for nearly two years and Beck is "trying to change the subject... The issue is his baseless fear mongering."
Although the ad boycott has generated publicity, FOX News says it has not hurt the network;s revenue or Beck's audience. "The advertisers referenced have all moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network so there has been no revenue lost," a spokeswoman said.
Since his show made its debut in January, Beck has attracted a sizable following with his crticisim for the Obama administration. This month, his viewership has averaged 2.25 million, with ratings up from July, when it averaged 2.05 million viewers.
"This president, I think, has exposed himself as a guy, over and over and over again, who has a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture, I don't know what it is,'' Beck said on FOX & Friends last month "I'm not saying that he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist.''
"The controversy has triggered a broader discussion about the risks to advertisers of running commercials amid the incendiary rhetoric of cable talk shows,'' Gold notes.
Clorox announced last week that it was making a clean sweep of its ads from all political talk shows. ""We do not want to be associated with inflammatory speech used by either liberal or conservative talk show host," the company said in a statement. "After a comprehensive review of political talks shows across the spectrum, at this time we have made a decision not to advertise on them.''
As for the vacationing White House, there appeared to be no word forthcoming on Beck's newest assault, but a spokesman professed that he wasn't sure what O'Reilly's producer was talking about on that "thin-skinned'' question.
.(Glenn Beck, of FOX News, is pictured above right in a a file photo by Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times. Van Jones, of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, is pictured above left speaking at the National Clean Energy Summit in Las Vegas in a phhoto by Ethan Miller / Getty Images)
I have no feeling one way or the other. I have never watched him. If he feels Obama is racist, he is free to feel that way. Every one is entitled to their opinion.
I don't think so. I use to listen to Beck (when he didn't come across as a raving lunatic) and he would discuss/mention being a Mormon or things about his religion from time to time but I never felt that he was pushing Mormonism.
I know plenty of Mormons and they generally don't act the way Glenn Beck does by making baseless accusations.
While I'm no fan of the LDS church, their parishioners are generally very good people.
Beck is entitled to his own opinion, but I find it curious how an argument can be made about a bi-racial man raised by white people, is somehow racist against white people.
I like Glenn Beck. I don't any impression that he's "pushing Mormonism"
As far as being a "lunatic", I think people have become used to political commentators on TV being plastic and emotionless. Glenn gets "excited" on TV from time to time, but there's nothing wrong with showing a little passion for what he believes.
As far as calling Obama a racist goes, Beck has shown from where he got this opinion (which he has the right to have). People who can show why they think they way they do are a lot less loony than those who those who don't.
1. Obama is a racist, look at his past and his present associates. Glenn Beck is only telling the truth.
2. The Color of Change started their boycott after Beck exposed their leader Van Johnson. Beck said he was a self-proclaim communist and black activist.
3. There has only been a small group (less than 10)of advertises that asked to be moved from Becks time slot. Another group of advertises quit sponsoring both conservative and liberal programing.
4. Glenn Beck show is drawing huge numbers. The article mention of his viewership is not true.
5. FOX is getting the cold shoulder from the Obama administration because they are the only news outlet telling the truth.
Personally it is his right to have whatever religion he wants. I don't watch him because he is a raving lunatic, not because of his religion...
Oh and regarding from an above answer:
"4. Glenn Beck show is drawing huge numbers. The article mention of his viewership is not true."
Below are the ratings for August 24Th:
Ratings for Monday, August 24, 2009
NetworkProgramTotal Audience
Fox NewsO?Reilly3,440,000
Fox NewsHannity2,937,000
Fox NewsBeck 2,810,000
Those numbers in the original question are a monthly average not a daily number and are accurate as per the last averages reported. Numbers are up for Beck a bit over the last few weeks so there may be more of an increase in the final August average numbers.
HOWEVER:
It is important to remember that with 2.81 million viewers, that means that out of a total US population of 307,279,671, at total of 0.91% of the US population even watches his show. 99.09% of Americans don't watch.
You could narrow those numbers down a little more by going with Neilsen's estimate that there are about 290,000,000 people above the age of 2 (114.5 million households) in the US with TV's. That is an average of 2.53 people a household. Out of those people, 62.2% of households have cable and 28.6% satellite. So a total of 90.8% of US households have access to Fox via cable or satellite.
90.8% of 114,500,000 households = 103,966,000 households
103,966,000 households x 2.53 people per household = 263,033,980 people
Glenn Becks viewers (2,810,000) are 1.1% of the total available viewers (263,033,980) even on his best day.
His total viewers are less than half of the lowest rated CBS Evening News and he has less total viewers than (for example) Wheel of Fortune by half as well.
I don't think Beck is pushing anything but crazy. Why any sane person would spend more than a few minutes watching his television show is beyond me. But I suspect that the poor viewer who does spends the next few days thanking God that he or she isn't Glenn Beck.
What is your feeling about Glenn Beck? Does he push Mormonism?
