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Sitting through an episode of Glenn Beck’s program on Fox News, an emotional punch is delivered that is not much different in substance than a disaster movie like 2012. It is jam-packed with terror-inducing scenes of catastrophe, destruction, conspiracy, and death.<\/p>\n
For example in Beck’s own words<\/a>:<\/p>\n Beck wants you to “be afraid…be very afraid.”<\/em> But this is not just a case of Apocalyptic fever. This is Glenn Beck’s marketing plan. The dramaturgy practiced by Beck is deliberately designed to manufacture fear and panic. It is not coincidental that Beck’s broadcasting company is called Mercury Radio Arts. It is a perverse homage to Orson Welles’ Mercury Theatre on the Air. The Mercury Theatre, of course, was best known for causing a nationwide panic with “War of the Worlds<\/a>,”<\/em> a radio broadcast of a fictional invasion by martians. For Beck to name his company after a theatrical enterprise notorious for fabricating an hysterical frenzy tells you all that is necessary to know about his motives. He is virtually admitting his intention to concoct phony spectacles of dread. Beck wants you to believe that we are at war. And while the enemy may not be Martians, they are still mysterious, secretive, and deadly. And, oh yes, aliens (i.e. Mexicans, Kenyans, Socialists, etc.).<\/p>\n Beck’s entire program is a hoax that is comparable to recent notorious hoaxes like Balloon Boy and Sarah Palin. And it is reaching its intended market. Earlier this year Beck appeared on Fox & Friends and called President Obama a racist who has “a deep-seated hatred of white people.”<\/em> In response, advertisers abandoned the program in droves<\/a>. The ads that remain<\/a> reflect the fear mongering tone of the show’s content. Rosland Capital and Goldline International are gold traders banking on the decline of the dollar and the economy. LifeLock and Consumer Debt Advocates peddle services aimed at people afraid of identity theft and collection agencies. The National Review, the Weekly Standard, and the Fox News affiliated Wall Street Journal, are all publications that preach gloomy prospects for the administration, and therefore, the country and the world. The remainder are a mix of old-age products for insurance, retirement, or cosmetics, along with advocacy ads that promote tea parties and bash health care reform.<\/p>\n The category of advertiser has remained at best second rate. These are not the sort of top tier enterprises that a highly rated program would be expected to attract. Procter & Gamble, GEICO, Wal-Mart, etc., were all advertisers prior to Beck’s remarks about the President. They have not returned despite predictions by some media analysts that the ad boycott would be short-lived. And contrary to Fox PR flacks, they have lost millions of dollars<\/a> due to the anti-Beck campaign that was spearheaded by Color of Change<\/a>.<\/p>\n This ad slump for Beck comes at a time when the industry is bouncing back<\/a> from a long recession. Yet Beck is still compelled to not only accept lower tier ads, but he is also forced to personally shill for these services. The gold dealers get plugged by Beck during his program as he warns his viewers to get out of the stock market and stockpile gold and guns instead. He also pitches another advertiser, The Villages retirement community in Florida, by appearing there to promote his book and announce the commencement of his ludicrous and paranoid “PLAN<\/a>.”<\/p>\n The point of all of this is to leave you depressed, discouraged, and desperate. It is a persistent message that permeates Beck’s program and continues through the commercial breaks. As a marketing strategy it has the benefit of producing viewers who are addicted to the rhetoric of hopelessness and the clannish appeal of membership in a club that regards itself as the only clear-eyed community of truth seekers. At the same time it creates consumers who cannot resist the products that promise them security and salvation. There is no more motivated buyer than one who believes his life is dependent on a purchase.<\/p>\n The sad part is that there are way too many people who are buying Beck’s snake oil. It is making him richer and his viewers, and the country, poorer. It is a strategy that brings a whole new meaning to the phrase Caveat Emptor<\/em> – Let the buyer beware<\/strong>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sitting through an episode of Glenn Beck’s program on Fox News, an emotional punch is delivered that is not much different in substance than a disaster movie like 2012. It is jam-packed with terror-inducing scenes of catastrophe, destruction, conspiracy, and death. For example in Beck’s own words: …there are people intentionally destroying our country. It […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[33,44],"class_list":["post-1478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-fox-news","tag-glenn-beck"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-nQ","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5523,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5523","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":0},"title":"Strike Out Beck: Why Did Major League Baseball Put Glenn Beck In Their Lineup?","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/13\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"A new web site has come up to bat that is challenging Major League Baseball's support for Glenn Beck's new GBTV venture. With America's game down to the final exciting innings of post-season, a new campaign from Americans United for Change is pressuring Major League Baseball to immediately end its\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3006,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3006","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":1},"title":"Sign The DROP FOX Petition From Media Matters","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/19\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Media Matters is partnering with People for the American Way to apply some of that free market pressure on the companies who are sponsoring Glenn Beck's crusade of terror. Petition to tell major advertisers to DROP FOX! This petition is in response to a recent event wherein a Beck fan,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4068,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4068","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":2},"title":"Why Does Fox News Keep Glenn Beck Around?","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/16\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"In a discussion on the fairness and balance of Fox News, the network's CEO Roger Ailes famously told Barbara Walters that, \"I'm not in politics. I'm in ratings. We're winning.\" If we are to take Ailes at his word, then we have to wonder why he keeps Glenn Beck on\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4146,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4146","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":3},"title":"LEAKED MEMO: Fox News Considers Glenn Beck’s Replacements","author":"Mark NC","date":"4\/1\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"[UPDATE 4\/6\/11:] Just a few days after this startling April 1st revelation was published, Glenn Beck and Fox News announced that Beck's program will end later this year. [BREAKING: April 1, 2011, New York, NY] In recent weeks there has been growing speculation as to the future of Glenn Beck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":2905,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=2905","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":4},"title":"Glenn Beck Says Glenn Beck Devalues Humankind","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/6\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In an epic rant about how progressives are plotting to engage in all manner of mischief if they don't get what they want, Glenn Beck revealed something about himself that is far more enlightening than his routine delusional obsession with left-wing radicals. Beck was rolling along in his customary panic-addled\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4697,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4697","url_meta":{"origin":1478,"position":5},"title":"Glenn Beck Is Afraid To Debate Van Jones","author":"Mark NC","date":"6\/20\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"On Saturday at the Netroots Nation conference, keynote speaker Van Jones spoke about the new movement to Rebuild the American Dream. In the course of his remarks he had a message for his old adversary, Glenn Beck: Jones: \"I issue a personal challenge to my beloved brother Glenn Beck. I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=1"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1478\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n