Roger Ailes fired Glenn Beck. The astonishing and reaffirming good news is that there are still lines that should not be crossed. Who knew?
I hate it that Beck and his ilk are called “cable news” people – these are not news programs. I also hate it that Beck and his right wing counterparts are called conservatives – that’s akin to calling a communist liberal.
In some ways, Beck is/was nothing more than the most successful of the current crop of professional provocateurs. But in another way, the success of Beck, Hannity, Dobbs, Matthews, Olbermann and Rush Limbaugh suggest wide spread gullibility and possibly hatred rather than anger – the later being healthy and normal while the former is pathology.
Beck was given to wild, unsubstantiated claims and the occasionally crazy rant. Many have called him an "unhinged crybaby" – I think he’s just a clever, narcissistic opportunist. He does stupid things on his show; he became a birther, “investigated” and then backed off; he called President Obama racist, and then took back the statement. His consistent use of Nazi and Holocaust imagery upsets anyone who is at least half aware of what's decent and acceptable to do on television. His conspiracy theories can be right up there with extraterrestrials and crop circles.
I rank his Mr Rogers-professor-doctor-head-down-humble routine right up there with W’s smirk – nails on a blackboard. Ditto his incessant pseudo-religion-on-his sleeve. I made a special cage from chain link fencing that I put around the TV when I watch Beck. It’s hard to lift so I don’t watch often.
Ok, so I don’t like Beck; here is the important good news.
· Beck, like Dobbs before him, has a loyal following – 2.2 million total viewers and 563,000 viewers 25-54 years old, these are primetime numbers not 5pm slot numbers.
· Never the less, he has steadily lost a slew of advertisers – like Geico and Proctor & Gamble. He was left with the shallower pockets and tainted image of liability lawyers, tax evasion scammers and gold sellers – an ironically good match in my view.
· Roger Ailes who is all about making money and bragging about his superiority to the inept, left leaning managers in the media business is dumping Beck.
There are still lines; even on FoxNews.
These guys should not be part of the American political discourse and they do not deserve a platform even on shabby cable TV. We are human, we cannot help ourselves; TV still conveys credibility, deserved or not. America has problems to solve; we don’t need disinformation, distortion and pointless distraction. Such is all Glenn Beck ever had to offer.
I know many Beck fans and they will be losing some entertainment they value. But if your cause is anti-Pelosi, anti-progressive, anti-Obama, anti-Obamacare, anti-tax, anti-debt, anti-immigrant, conservative, mildly right leaning or simply centrist, then your cause is forwarded without Glenn Beck.
There may be hope for us yet.
This is Beck’s 3 minute goodbye – viewer discretion advised.
No comments:
Post a Comment