Is Beck’s Brand Too Big For Fox?

Over the summer came the first indication that some within Fox News and Glenn Beck’s own camp weren’t exactly on the same page.

In August, Fox sources told TVNewser that Beck’s long-planned vacation was actually a reprimand for the controversy brewing since calling President Obama “a racist.” However, Matthew Hiltzik — Beck’s personal PR guy, who doesn’t work for Fox News — then came out and proved the “forced vacation” rumors to be false. So Beck’s people, it seemed, might have to protect him from a damaging leak coming out of his own network.

Now the Washington Post reports that Beck’s growing personal brand — best-selling books, tours, radio show, and large events — continues rankling some at the network.

The internal tensions are fueled by two views of Beck’s success. He is either a self-promoting independent operator, as some at Fox believe, or a team player who regularly talks up his new colleagues, as the Beck camp sees it. Some journalists and other staffers who are upset about Beck’s language declined to be identified criticizing a fellow employee.

Before launching his Fox program in January 2009, Beck had a popular radio show and Web site, as well as a magazine (called Fusion) and a thriving career as an author. These ventures — Beck doesn’t even work at Fox’s Sixth Avenue headquarters — give him an outside base that his team believes doesn’t sit well with some Fox executives.

Read More: By Michael Calderone, Politico