{"id":1491,"date":"2009-12-14T12:58:26","date_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:58:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1491"},"modified":"2009-12-14T12:58:26","modified_gmt":"2009-12-14T20:58:26","slug":"thars-gold-in-glenn-becks-shills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1491","title":{"rendered":"Thar’s Gold In Glenn Beck’s Shills"},"content":{"rendered":"

To accuse Glenn Beck of being a greedy, capitalist, manipulative, profiteering, hustler would probably be received as a compliment by him. He spreads the marketing on pretty thick with TV, radio, magazines, books, movies, and personal appearances. And all of these self-aggrandizing ventures are hawked shamelessly on his multiple media platforms.<\/p>\n

Recently, however, Beck has come under fire for his promotion of products and services offered by his advertisers. This sort of hucksterism is problematic because it makes it impossible to tell if the product endorsements are genuine or if they are payoffs to keep the advertiser happy. That obvious conflict of interest seems to escape Beck. What’s worse, shilling for products in this manner can result in the spokesperson deliberately misleading his audience in order to create or enhance the market for a product.<\/p>\n

And that is precisely what Beck is being accused of doing on behalf of his gold advertisers. During the course of his programs on radio and TV, Beck is painting a picture of America, and the world, as teetering on the ledge of catastrophe<\/a>. He insists that the economy is in freefall and the dollar is collapsing. He has even floated conspiracy theories about the dollar being replaced by a new world currency. All of these frightful predictions are encouragements to his gullible disciples to protect their assets by converting them to gold.<\/p>\n

Now, even Beck’s employer, Fox News, has registered some concern<\/a> about Beck’s relationship with his sponsors. Joel Cheatwood, Senior Vice President of Development at Fox, says that the network’s legal department asked Beck’s representatives for clarification about his work for Goldline International. The response was that Beck is not a paid spokesman. That’s fortunate because Fox’s official policy on the matter is that…<\/p>\n

“Fox News prohibits any on-air talent from endorsing products or serving as a product spokesperson.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

So how do they explain this:<\/p>\n

\"GlennThe Goldline web site has prominently featured Beck<\/a> endorsing their products. The footnote referenced on the ad identified Beck explicitly as a “paid spokesman.”<\/em> However, it no longer does so. The designation was recently changed to read “radio sponsor.”<\/em> And concurrent with that, both Goldline and Fox are now claiming that Beck was never a paid spokesman in the first place. It was all just a big misunderstanding. Never mind the fact that Beck has appeared in specially produced videos touting Goldline.<\/p>\n

The doomsday gold rush is a staple for Beck’s media empire. At least four of his current advertisers are gold dealers (Goldline, Superior Gold Group, Investment Rarities, and Rosland Capital). Granted, Beck is having a hard time<\/a> attracting advertisers since he called President Obama a racist. The remaining ads are almost all for conservative publications or products and services exploiting one crisis or another. And this is not just a Beck phenomena. Goldline and other gold traders are also pitched by such financial wizards as Mark Levin, Dennis Miller, Fred Thompson, Laura Ingraham, Lars Larson, Michael Smerconish, Monica Crowley, and G. Gordon Liddy.<\/p>\n

If the world doesn’t come to an end soon, Beck’s viewers are going to be very disappointed – and poor. Gold prices have cratered in the past month, losing more than $100.00 per ounce. And the worst thing that can happen from the perspective of Beck, and those who foolishly took his investment advice, is for the economy to recover. And therein lies the problem with regard to conflict of interest.<\/p>\n

In order for Beck and his coterie to prosper, the economy must not. Beck has a financial stake in the nation’s economic affairs turning south. He also has a personal stake in that he does not want to be seen as having been wrong about his dire predictions. So his programs’ advertising, his investment portfolio, and his reputation all require that our country fail. Could that have something to with Beck’s relentless barrage of lectures about how the country is going to hell and it is time to build an Ark<\/a>? Could it have something to do with his rallying cry for God, guns, and of course, gold?<\/p>\n

Could it? Could be.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To accuse Glenn Beck of being a greedy, capitalist, manipulative, profiteering, hustler would probably be received as a compliment by him. He spreads the marketing on pretty thick with TV, radio, magazines, books, movies, and personal appearances. And all of these self-aggrandizing ventures are hawked shamelessly on his multiple media platforms. Recently, however, Beck has […]<\/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_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":[219,1],"tags":[33,44,686],"class_list":["post-1491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-economy","category-general","tag-fox-news","tag-glenn-beck","tag-joel-cheatwood"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4Ijg-o3","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":5717,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=5717","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":0},"title":"Glenn Beck Sponsor Goldline Charged With Theft And Fraud","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/2\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"ABC News is reporting that Glenn Beck's long-time sponsor Goldline has been formally charged by the Santa Monica City Attorney with a 19-count criminal complaint for defrauding customers. The complaint alleges that Goldline \"runs a bait and switch operation in which customers, seeking to invest in gold bullion, are switched\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":10454,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=10454","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":1},"title":"Glenn Beck’s Inner Dictator Emerges With Climate Change Denialism And Conspiracy Theories","author":"Mark NC","date":"8\/27\/2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Anyone who has seen Glenn Beck's Acute Paranoia Revue is familiar with his Messiah complex and his extremist and delusional worldview. Despite his frequent characterizations of President Obama as a tyrannical despot who seeks to enslave all Americans and, indeed, the world, it turns out that Beck himself is the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Environment"","block_context":{"text":"Environment","link":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?cat=473"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4096,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=4096","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":2},"title":"Glenn Beck Has A Bright Future – In Infomercials","author":"Mark NC","date":"3\/23\/2011","format":false,"excerpt":"With his ratings in a steep downward spiral and advertisers rushing for the exits, the speculation surrounding Glenn Beck's future at Fox News is reaching a fever pitch. A few weeks ago David Carr of the New York Times reported that Fox insiders have begun \"contemplating life without Mr. 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":1499,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1499","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":3},"title":"Glenn Beck: 2009 Misinformer Of The Year","author":"Mark NC","date":"12\/21\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"On the heels of the announcement that Sarah Palin had edged out Glenn Beck for \"Lie of the Year,\" Beck has bounced back to nab the Media Matters honor of 2009 Misinformer of the Year. This award caps a year of distinguished prevarication by an acknowledged master of the art.\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":3009,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=3009","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":4},"title":"Top 10 Reasons George Soros Should Refuse To Debate Glenn Beck","author":"Mark NC","date":"10\/20\/2010","format":false,"excerpt":"In a challenge dripping with sarcasm and scorn, Glenn Beck pretended to invite George Soros onto his show for a one-on-one debate. Of course, it was just another of the phony clown shows Beck puts on to the delight of his fans who think his act is real. But just\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":1443,"url":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/?p=1443","url_meta":{"origin":1491,"position":5},"title":"Jon Stewart Channels Glenn Beck – And News Corpse","author":"Mark NC","date":"11\/6\/2009","format":false,"excerpt":"In another brilliantly conceived and executed parody, the Daily Show's Jon Stewart has perfectly captured the dementia that is Glenn Beck. The wonder, the shock, the outrage, the tears, the megalomania, the obsession with impending doom. It's all there in a hilarious send up of Beck's traitorous appendix. Everyday it\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\/1491","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=1491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newscorpse.com\/ncWP\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}