WoodysGirl
04-14-2009, 08:29 PM
Drama on set
Tue Apr 14, 5:04 pm ET
The staff of Fox's "Glenn Beck" show is used to a fair share of theatrics from the self-proclaimed "rodeo clown" host. (See when he simulated dousing a guest with gasoline (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts298/31659697/SIG=11tnch5q4/*http://gawker.com/5206155/glenn-becks-scariest-meltdown-yet).) That could explain why nobody initially moved (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts298/31659697/SIG=12h8u679v/*http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Glen_Beck_staff_thought_guests_collapse_0414.html) when Beck's guest, Columbia professor David Buckner, passed out during Monday's interview. See it here:
NQwGFDnIVeU
Buckner, who was discussing the causes of bankruptcy when he lost consciousness, is reported to be doing fine, and even later had the energy to apologize to Beck for the scene. Beck responded, in typical Beck-ian fashion:
"Are you kidding me? The ratings will go through the roof!"
But it's not like the former radio personality-turned-CNN host-turned-conservative media darling needs any ratings help. His three-month-old nightly show on Fox, known for incensed critiques of the Obama administration and an apocalyptic view of the future, typically draws about 2.3 million viewers. That is more than any other cable host except Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
TIME attributes the show's success to Beck's antics and likens it to a game of Jenga:
"(The show) teeters from humor to predictions of apocalypse to self-esteem sermons to fits of weeping. ('I'm sorry. I just love my country. And I fear for it.') This is what makes it so compelling: the breathless feeling that at any moment, everything could spectacularly collapse."
Beck even announced earlier this week that he is taking a comedy show on the road, making six live appearances starting June 1.
According to the AP:
"Beck calls his act a 'poor man's Seinfeld' and intends to mix topical humor with his modern-day reimagining of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet 'Common Sense.'"
Beck's personal history may be just as fascinating as the histrionics he is known for. A self-described reformed alcoholic and drug addict, his mother committed suicide when he was 13, and later his brother also committed suicide. Beck joined the Church of of Latter-Day Saints in 1999. He told Salt Lake City's Deseret News back in 2006:
"'I only had two roads -- kill myself or redeem myself…I think God stalked me for a while. He threw Mormons in my path.'... Beck said he kept thinking, 'How many of these (Mormon) freaks are there?'"
The article goes on to attribute Beck’s desire for people to be more honest and open to his "stormy past." And it's quite obvious Beck's own emotions are never far from the surface. He's criticized America for being "on the road to socialism," he’s ranted that "God and religion are under attack in the U.S.," and most recently, he's wondered out loud whether FEMA was setting up concentration camps. (He later admitted they are not.)
But one man's honesty is another man's critique. Beck's critics chastise his rhetoric and say he is inciting fear and maybe even an armed revolt.
Jeffrey Jones, a professor of media and politics at Old Dominion University and author of the book "Entertaining Politics," tells The New York Times:
"People hear their values are under attack and they get worried. It becomes an opportunity for them to stand up and do something."
And comedian Bill Maher recently accused Beck of producing the "same kind of talking" that led Timothy McVeigh to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
Whether you're of the camp that believes Beck's show to be a bunch of angry conservative ranting, or you're planning to attend the Alamo tea party with him, there is no dispute that Glenn Beck has blazed a name for himself.
But even his supporters aren’t immune to his barbs -- as he's said himself on many occasions:
"If you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot."
- Allison Louie-Garcia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20090414/ts_ynews/ynews_ts298
Tue Apr 14, 5:04 pm ET
The staff of Fox's "Glenn Beck" show is used to a fair share of theatrics from the self-proclaimed "rodeo clown" host. (See when he simulated dousing a guest with gasoline (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts298/31659697/SIG=11tnch5q4/*http://gawker.com/5206155/glenn-becks-scariest-meltdown-yet).) That could explain why nobody initially moved (http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ynews/ts_ynews/storytext/ynews_ts298/31659697/SIG=12h8u679v/*http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Glen_Beck_staff_thought_guests_collapse_0414.html) when Beck's guest, Columbia professor David Buckner, passed out during Monday's interview. See it here:
NQwGFDnIVeU
Buckner, who was discussing the causes of bankruptcy when he lost consciousness, is reported to be doing fine, and even later had the energy to apologize to Beck for the scene. Beck responded, in typical Beck-ian fashion:
"Are you kidding me? The ratings will go through the roof!"
But it's not like the former radio personality-turned-CNN host-turned-conservative media darling needs any ratings help. His three-month-old nightly show on Fox, known for incensed critiques of the Obama administration and an apocalyptic view of the future, typically draws about 2.3 million viewers. That is more than any other cable host except Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity.
TIME attributes the show's success to Beck's antics and likens it to a game of Jenga:
"(The show) teeters from humor to predictions of apocalypse to self-esteem sermons to fits of weeping. ('I'm sorry. I just love my country. And I fear for it.') This is what makes it so compelling: the breathless feeling that at any moment, everything could spectacularly collapse."
Beck even announced earlier this week that he is taking a comedy show on the road, making six live appearances starting June 1.
According to the AP:
"Beck calls his act a 'poor man's Seinfeld' and intends to mix topical humor with his modern-day reimagining of Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet 'Common Sense.'"
Beck's personal history may be just as fascinating as the histrionics he is known for. A self-described reformed alcoholic and drug addict, his mother committed suicide when he was 13, and later his brother also committed suicide. Beck joined the Church of of Latter-Day Saints in 1999. He told Salt Lake City's Deseret News back in 2006:
"'I only had two roads -- kill myself or redeem myself…I think God stalked me for a while. He threw Mormons in my path.'... Beck said he kept thinking, 'How many of these (Mormon) freaks are there?'"
The article goes on to attribute Beck’s desire for people to be more honest and open to his "stormy past." And it's quite obvious Beck's own emotions are never far from the surface. He's criticized America for being "on the road to socialism," he’s ranted that "God and religion are under attack in the U.S.," and most recently, he's wondered out loud whether FEMA was setting up concentration camps. (He later admitted they are not.)
But one man's honesty is another man's critique. Beck's critics chastise his rhetoric and say he is inciting fear and maybe even an armed revolt.
Jeffrey Jones, a professor of media and politics at Old Dominion University and author of the book "Entertaining Politics," tells The New York Times:
"People hear their values are under attack and they get worried. It becomes an opportunity for them to stand up and do something."
And comedian Bill Maher recently accused Beck of producing the "same kind of talking" that led Timothy McVeigh to blow up the Oklahoma City federal building in 1995.
Whether you're of the camp that believes Beck's show to be a bunch of angry conservative ranting, or you're planning to attend the Alamo tea party with him, there is no dispute that Glenn Beck has blazed a name for himself.
But even his supporters aren’t immune to his barbs -- as he's said himself on many occasions:
"If you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot."
- Allison Louie-Garcia
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ynews/20090414/ts_ynews/ynews_ts298