Wait a minute: Glenn Beck is a voice of reason? A senior official for the traditional movement? Glenn Beck, the rabblerousing, bomb-hurling,” Obama is a bigoted” fool?! When the hell did THAT happen? !
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It was n’t overnight.  ,
Seems like only yesterday, Beck was the fresh taste of the month on Fox News, receiving on-air noogies from Bill O’Reilly, joyfully jabbing the formation in the eye. He was one of the first encounters of Fox News to add humor into his lectures, in many ways, he was Greg Gutfeld before Greg Gutfeld.
He was never, ever, anything less. Much more than that.
His predilection for foolishness belied another part of Beck, one whose major, vulnerable aspect was shaped by horror: His mother committed suicide, and Beck spent his younger years drinking and being heavily affected by alcohol and drugs. But his expertise on television was obvious, yet with his head half-numbed by whiskey and cocaine, there’s a reason why he kept landing work in big markets, including Seattle, Baltimore, Houston, Phoenix, and Tampa.  ,
Even today, when you listen to him do, his” Morning Zoo” culture is obvious. Unlike Rush Limbaugh who was his own one-man display, Beck has a funny, more-collaborative tone, which works well with castmates Stu Burguiere and Pat Gray. Often, it almost feels like a radio trapped in a talk-show, because the conversational movement differs so greatly from standard AM broadcasts.
There’s a tendency to engage with the other television stations on the ring: You have to say anything interesting constantly, not just for dead atmosphere! — or otherwise your target audience may change. This creates a hostile environment in which the host about shouts at the driver’s backseat. Audiences are enthralled to discover what the host may say or do next in prosperous radio programs. You need that uncertainty — that sense of excitement.
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Podcasts do n’t work like that. Instead, the successful people make you feel like you’ve joined an intimate, polite conversation between exciting people. Bombastic chest-beating and self-aggrandizement come across as odd and off-putting. It’s less a display and more of a discussion.
More than anyone else, Lewis obviously bridge the two leading types. It does n’t matter if you listen to Beck on radio or podcasts, read his books, or watch him on Blaze Media: Glenn Beck is Glenn Beck. He is who he is, and that’s a damned good narrator. Hit that: An AMAZING writer.
The best since Paul Harvey.  ,
The future of Blaze Media is questionable. Almost always, speculation about the financial health of privately held companies is fraught with errors, but from a visibility perspective, its potential future may be as a merged property with someone else ( Daily Wire? ). An illustration of a pairing force where 1 + 1 = anything much larger than two
At this point, he’s not longer the younger, brave sharpshooter on the block. No more is he continuously center-stage, leaping from one discussion to another, which does reduce his entire account. Nowadays, he’s settled into a thought-leadership part: If the GOP wins or loses in November— whenever there’s a triumphant achievements or soul-crushing beat — Beck may help us make sense of it all. We trust him. It’s the mantle that Rush Limbaugh used to bear, and now the burden is Beck’s.
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Deep down, Beck wants to be a clown. He’s a natural ham, I think he’s more comfortable being silly than serious. He is also a lover of history and a proud American, and his authenticity, or the sincerity of his convictions, is the secret to his show’s power.
One of the men he admires most is George Washington. Beck has mentioned many times that he wished he was more like Washington: Someone whose integrity, morality, and leadership skills could unite the masses. Very respectfully, Beck is wrong. Who could possibly be George Washington if he is not? — but he’s absolutely emerged as a leader.
How in the world did Glenn Beck become a conservatism’s leading figure? By earning it.
GRADE: A
Prior commentators in this series:
Laura Ingraham ,
