(Los Angeles Times.com) Fox News Network has made the decision to pull off Glenn Beck's once-popular Fox News show later this year. Beck's 5 p.m. program, which had earned scorn from liberals for his criticism of President Obama as well as his devotion to what some would classify as obscure right-wing conspiracy theories, was a top cable show in 2009 and a signpost for the populist "tea party" movement in last year's midterm elections, which dealt a stinging ballot-box rebuke to the White House and Democrats in Congress last year. However, ratings had plummeted 32% since last year and many advertisers bailed out on Beck. Beck, a salt-and-pepper-haired longtime radio host who has compared himself to a rodeo clown--increasingly pursued an agenda which some would consider too conspiracy-minded. He also chafed his bosses at Fox News, who faulted him for spending too much time on his far-flung business operations and not enough time honing his TV presentation.
Both sides cobbled together a diplomatically worded satement Wednesday that noted Beck would "transition-off" his daily program but stressed that the host and Fox News had reached a new deal for the future, as-yet-unspecified projects. Joel Cheatwood, a senior Fox News executive, was hired away to help run Beck's company, Mercury Radio Arts. Beyond that both Beck and Fox News declined further comment. Roger Ailes, the Fox News chairman and chief executive who until recently had overriden doubts about Beck among his subordinates, said in the statement: "Glenn Beck is a powerful communicator, a creative entrepreneur and a true success by anyone's standards."
There was little mistake that this move would take place. Less than three years after joining Fox News from CNN's Headline News amid a burst of publicity, Beck is being booted off the air. His sinking ratings fell 32% for the first three months of this year, It went down from 2.8 million in the fall of 2009 to 1.9 million viewers as of to date, according to the Nielsen Co. After months of reported friction between the host and Fox News as well as an aggressive advertiser boycott after Beck dubbed President Obama a racist, analysts professed little surprised. Jeffrey McCall, a professor of media studies at DePauw University, said, "His show had become tired." "He was spending a lot of time talking in front of his blackboard. Guests were less frequently involved. Mcall stated the ratings drop was significant and couldn't be ignored. McCall continued saying that the advertiser boycott didn't hurt the program as much in terms of dollars as it did in terms of bad publicity. Beck had become an easy target for Fox News critics to characterize him as representative of the entire channel.
Many executives at Fox News reportedly felt that Beck was never a good fit with the channel, which includes programming with such hosts as Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity that appeal to more "mainstream" conservatives. This divide grew sharper in recent months, as Beck devoted more time to "black helicopter" conspiracy theorists who view government agencies as allied with shadowy business and tech interests determined to manipulate the lives of ordinary people. Even some fans began to complain that Beck was ripping off anti-government ideas popularized by another popular radio host, Alex Jones.
The program is expected to end sometime this summer, even though an exact date hasn't been announced yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment