In the end, he was too big a liability even for Fox News.
The fact that hundreds of advertisers shunned Glenn Beck as too volatile was the key indicator of what was coming.
The anticipated split of Beck and the cable network was confirmed today by both parties. The joint announcement, from Fox News and Beck’s company Mercury Radio Arts, cited Beck’s ratings as the third highest in cable news, averaging 2.2 million viewers. No departure date was given for the TV talker, saying only he would “transition off” later this year. He’ll take a top Fox News executive, Joel Cheatwood, with him.
Beck is easily parodied as the crying, ranting bearer of urgently horrific tidings. Donning glasses to appear professorial, and quoting authors and studies, he can appear almost grounded–until his spiel soars into outer orbit.
His default mode is predicting end times, often with the accompaniment of charts and blackboard diagrams. As a showman, Beck seems less tethered to reality than Rush Limbaugh, less able to control his emotions than the average starlet on awards night.
No conspiracy theory is too far-fetched, no apocalyptic prediction too rash, no accusation against progressives too personal or unfounded for Beck’s railing.
Remember, it was Beck who called Obama a racist in 2009. After rising as a radio talker, and bringing phenomenal ratings to Fox News, he peaked with last summer’s successful “Restoring Honor” rally in Washington, D.C., (successfully mocked by Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert’s “Rally to Restore Sanity.”)
Reports of angry sniping between Beck and Fox News have surfaced for years. Now he hopes to be in business with Fox News as a production partner, rather than as an employee.
