Glenn Beck’s Entertaining News

In late September, President Barack Obama conducted a series of five one-on-one White House interviews with reporters from CBS, NBC, ABC, CNN, and Univision. For some reason—perhaps he’s housing a secret civilian security force in the Roosevelt Room and doesn’t want any fair and balanced reporters snooping around—the president didn’t invite Fox to participate. For Glenn Beck, the host of the hottest show on cable news, this Oval Office slight offered an opportunity to provide some trenchant perspective. “Does the president consider Fox some sort of enemy?” he exclaimed, chortling with amiable resentment. “I mean, no, it can’t be that, because, no, he’ll sit down with our enemies. He’s even offered to sit down with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. And that guy, I mean, you call me nuts?”

The bit was Beck at his best: shrewdly self-marginalizing, bitingly funny, and executed with perfect timing. A radio veteran who got his first job in the business at the age of 13, Beck, it turns out, is also a TV showman on par with Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert. But while America’s favorite fake newsmen have clear-cut identities as comedians, the question of how to categorize Beck is more perplexing.

When Beck was 8 years old, his mother gave him a record of old radio programs that included Orson Welles’ famous performance of War of the Worlds. Apparently the fictionalized news report of an alien invasion became a foundational text for him, an archetypal example of how you could create crazy, vivid, apocalyptic drama out of mere words. To pay tribute to Welles’ work, Beck starred in a live version of War of the Worlds that aired on his syndicated radio show on Halloween night in 2002. Shortly thereafter, an heir of the radio play’s author sued Beck and his producers for copyright infringement and won an injunction that prevents Beck from ever performing the play again.

Read More: By Greg Beato, Reason Magazine

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Comments

  1. GO BECK. uncover this stinking administration and its Muslim and anti-American ways PLEASE, lead us in an IMPEACHMENT process.

    • I FIND THAT GOOGLE HAS A LOT OF FILM CLIPS THAT SHOW OBAMA TELLING THAT HE IS A MUSLIM AND NOT A CHRISTIAN. HIS WIFE TELLS THE SAME STORY TO A GROUP OF WOMEN,THIS IS ALSO RECORDED ON GOOGLE..WE KNOW ALSO FROM FILM SNIPPETS ,ON GOOGLE THAT HE BOWED TO THE SAUDI KING BECAUSE THE MONEY FOR HIS COLLEGE EDUCATION COMES THOSE POCKETS.IN REVIEWING A LOT OF IS SPEECHES, ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL HE TOLD US IN NO UNCERTAIN TERMS OF WHAT HE BELIEVES IN AND WHERE HIS LOYALTIES LIE, SO WHY WAS HE ELECTED.? BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE TIRED OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION AND WANTED CHANGE…….., RIGHT FROM THE PAN AND INTO THE FIRE! SO BURN ,BABY BURN FOR NOT THINKNG………..IMPEACHMENT MAY BE THE WAY TO REMOVE HIM FROM OFFICE, ESPECIALLY IF HE SIGNS AWAY OUR SOVREIGNTY……

  2. As usual, the liberal "blind" media, through Greg Beato in this case, does not like ANYONE to differ from their way of thinking. Glenn Beck is a very unique and accurate broadcaster. He does not claim to be a journalist, news person, reporter, etc, never has. He just tells the American public to look behind all the smoke and mirrors that comes out of Washington. We must look at both hands because there is always something they are hiding and do not want us to see or know. I have never felt such complete distrust of the government of the U.S. in my life and it is frightening. Thankfully Glenn Beck is looking for and finding answers to questions most of us have, up to now, been afraid to give voice to. By the way, FOX advertised a special about two weeks ago, of an expose of Obama's Marxist associates, background, etc. It was due to broadcast on Sunday, 11/8/09 at 9:00pm. IT WAS NOT BROADCAST, NOR HAS ANY FURTHER MENTION BEEN MADE OF IT ON THE AIR! I sent an e-mail to FOX News about it and as yet have received no reply. Hate to think that Obama's thugs have gotten to FOX.

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