Time For Glenn To Put On His Journalist Cap

Glenn Beck is now the keeper of a modern day Burning bush (at least that’s what he’d like people to believe)…

Glenn Beck is a willful deceiver, an intentional misinformer and a disseminator of reckless vitriol.  But, don’t even think about criticizing Glenn Beck for it.  Why? Well, for the past few years, Glenn Beck and his defenders have argued that Mr. Beck is not a hard newsperson, but instead an entertainer and a commentator.  Thus, they contend that Mr. Beck should not be held to the standards of a journalist.

In the abstract, there is some merit to this argument.

However, Mr. Beck often offers up a mix of purported fact and opinion. I don’t care how bold your opinion is or what you call yourself, if you’re propagating an intentional lie (i.e. the existence of FEMA camps) then there should be some accountability for it.  Especially when you have a platform as large as Mr. Beck’s as well as a TV show on a self-described news channel.

But, per Glenn Beck, this debate is now over.

On Monday, riding the wave of publicity from his 828 rally (or, his prelude to a book launch event while trashing purple recipients), Mr. Beck launched a new partly hard news website called The Blaze:

The Blaze is a news, information and opinion site brought to you by Glenn Beck and a dedicated team of writers, journalists & video producers.

So there you have it. Glenn Beck is now a hard news journalist in addition to a commentator.

For those wondering, The Blaze appears to be an hommage to the Burning bush from the Book of Exodus.  This contention is supported by my understanding of Glenn Beck’s branding/marketing schemes, Mr. Beck’s constant references the Burning bush lately as well as his stated belief that god is now directly communicating with him.

This foray into hard news is an odd maneuver.  Mr. Beck proudly proclaims that his company is nothing more than an entertainment company, which doesn’t exactly comport with hard news.  Also, Mr. Beck has previously described himself as “a rodeo clown” adding that “if you take what I say as gospel, you’re an idiot.” It’s not everyday that you hear a hard news person telling you to be wary of their own reports.

Just a few more nuggets about Glenn Beck’s news venture:

  • At present, the sole sponsors of Beck’s Burning bush are: Goldline (shock!) and Dick Armey’s FreedomWorks.
  • The Associate Editor, Merideth Jessup, was the author of the July 2010 Townhall Magazine coverstory on Glenn Beck. The story was fiercely defensive of Glenn Beck in the face of his continuing advertiser losses.  We contacted Ms. Jessup regarding the timing of the article and her recent employment by Mr. Beck.  Via Twitter, Ms. Jessup assured us that she was not aware of her new position while publishing the friendly Beck piece nor was she hired as a reward for the piece. We take her at her word and offer our congratulions on this new position.

Glenn Beck: hard news journalist, keeper of modern day Burning bush.

Onward we go…