NEWS > BUSINESS > WITH ADVERTISERS LEAVING, GLENN BECK TO SEEK STIMULUS FUNDS

WITH ADVERTISERS LEAVING, GLENN BECK TO SEEK STIMULUS FUNDS

August 17 2009

New York, NY – One of the basic tenets of American society – in fact a part of the document that the country is based on – is the freedom of the individual to speak his or her mind. That first amendment to the U.S. Constitution has become so ingrained
in the minds of people across the world that it has now become a part of the idea of democracy itself. Because of that attacks on freedom has long been debated and vigorously defended, most often in the face of those who use it to present controversial opinions.

Such has been the running debate over Glenn Beck, the Fox News personality who has become famous of late for his attacks on President Obama and his policies. The latest and most popular debate has revolved around Beck’s proclamation that the President is a racist, a comment which has caused the erosion of advertiser support from his program. Under a firestorm of criticism and with dollars streaming out of the program, Beck has reportedly secretly applied for money from the stimulus fund he has publicly decried on his show. Though details are scarce at the moment it’s believed Beck’s application is a direct result of his advertiser abdication and an effort to keep his program on the air.

“From what I’ve heard things have gotten a lot rougher at Fox than most people realize and it’s really backed him into a corner. He’s been going around telling everyone he can that this is a first amendment issue, that he has the right to say whatever he wants, but to Fox it isn’t about any of that. For them it’s about the money and Beck’s success in the freedom area has threatened the whole making money thing,” said a Fox insider who preferred not to be named. “That’s why he has applied for stimulus dollars. He’s even done it behind the backs of the people at Fox. Apparently his plan is buy ads on his own show to show the bosses that he is still viable. I’m not so sure how well that will go over with his audience.”

It’s not clear how much money Beck is asking for and it is seen as unlikely that his request will be approved. Fox officially frowns upon its on air personalities purchasing their own advertising slots.

“Glenn Beck has done very well from an exposure point of view but from a sheer
numbers standpoint he has lagged far behind. Bill O’Reilly consistently draws far more viewers and they also tend to be a lot more loyal. Because of the nature of Beck’s show many people tune in and then tune out whereas O’Reilly keeps them for the duration of the program. That was already making advertisers antsy so it wasn’t going to take much to send them fleeing,” said Scrape TV Media analyst Sarah Piper. “Beck may be realizing for the first time that while he may have the right to say anything he wants, he doesn’t have the right to have a television show. That was not guaranteed in any part of the constitution, unfortunately.”

Beck has been credited, alongside fellow personalities Bill O’Reilly and Sean Hannity, as one of the principle reasons Fox News has been the ratings leader amongst 24-hour news channels. Both O’Reilly and Hannity have met with their own controversies in the past but have never suffered the advertiser erosion currently being experienced by Beck.

“Beck is the new guy and as successful as he has been I’m sure he doesn’t want to be seen as the guy dragging down the team. If he’s not able to pull his weight as far as revenue goes the other shows are going to start to complain and that will start up a whole new kind of problem. Perhaps a stimulus package is the only way for him to go if he wants to stay on good terms with the other heavy hitters on the network,” continued Piper. “Of course he has spent so much time railing against the spending that he is going to have some explaining to do to his viewers but at least he will still be on the air and able to do that.”

Though the majority of the stimulus dollars have already been distributed some has been held back for discretionary purposes for which Beck is applying. It’s not yet clear if he will move to a Pro-Obama position in order to acquire the stimulus money.

William Ashford, Business Correspondent

NEWS > BUSINESS > WITH ADVERTISERS LEAVING, GLENN BECK TO SEEK STIMULUS FUNDS