Glenn Beck IS Howard Beale

Other people have been compared to Network's Howard Beale, but no one fits the profile better than Glenn Beck.  Keith Olbermann, for example, has at times been bombastic, but outside of his occasionally displayed passion, the resemblance is scanty. Beck on the other hand--whom Olbermann himself has compared to Andy Griffith's "Lonesome Rhodes"--is eerily similar to Beale.  Both seem dangerously unbalanced. Both have had meteoric rises in popularity, with a cult-like following. Both seem to believe their own hype.  It just remains to be seen if Beck will have a similar comeuppance in Roger Ailes' or Rupert Murdoch's office: "Am I getting through to you, Mr. Beck? You have meddled with the primal forces of nature! And YOU. WILL. ATONE!!!"  


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Glenn Beck says tea party will 'set things right'

Fresh off a week of stunning Republican primary victories, several thousand exuberant and newly-empowered tea party followers descended on the Sears Centre Arena in Hoffman Estates on Saturday for Right Nation 2010 -- a carefully choreographed night of conservative political cheerleading, headlined by radio and TV host Glenn Beck. . .

Read more at: Chicago Breaking News

FOX "News" Beats CNN & MSNBC Combined

If you ever needed proof that popularity does not equal quality (or audience taste), this is it. What it proves to me, is that if something is noisy, flashy and outrageous enough, it will attract eyeballs. It also proves that the nuttier the cable news host, the more likely they will find an audience. Howard Beale, you're on!



[Excerpt]

April Ratings: FNC Beats CNN and MSNBC Combined

How's this for cable news domination - Fox News beat CNN and MSNBC combined in every hour from 6amET to MidnightET in both Total Viewers and the A25-54 demo for April 2009. . .

Read more at: TV Newser

The Real Reason Bill O'Reilly Quit His Radio Show

Image from source, NewsCorpse

I already reported on this story, but simply could not resist the image in this article. The writing is pretty good too!

[Excerpt]

The Real Reason Bill O’Reilly Bailed On His Radio Show

“It is with great regret that I’ve come to the decision to leave the Radio Factor, but with the success of the O’Reilly Factor, I can no longer give both TV and radio the time they deserve.”

TV and radio must have done something very bad to deserve any time at all from Bill O’Reilly. More likely it is O’Reilly who has been bad. . .

Read more at: NewsCorpse

Peter Finch as Howard Beale: Mad as Hell

The enormously prophetic 1976 movie, Network, has never been more relevant. Writer Paddy Chayefsky didn't merely predict the future. If anything he undersold it. If you've never seen the movie, I want you to run to your front door, get in your car, stick your head out of your window, and as you drive to the video store, yell, "I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!" Oh, and just fast-forward through the Faye Dunaway/William Holden romantic subplot. Blecch.

The most famous clip: Mad as Hell



And the response, from Ned Beatty: Primal Forces of Nature