The Glenn Beck Review: September 2010

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

NY Times Magazine profiles Glenn Beck



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The following is a post from StopBeck.com, reprinted here in its entirety with permission of the author.

NYT: 296 Advertisers Exclude Their Commercials From Glenn Beck’s Show

Posted: 29 Sep 2010 07:31 AM PDT

The New York Times Magazine has a big profile out on Glenn Beck. Buried deep within the report was this gem (emphasis added):

While Beck’s personal ventures and exposure have soared this year, his television ratings have declined sharply — perhaps another factor in the network’s impatience. His show now averages two million viewers, down from a high of 2.8 million in 2009, according to the Nielsen Ratings. And as of Sept. 21, 296 advertisers have asked that their commercials not be shown on Beck’s show (up from 26 in August 2009).

This report is consistent with my internal numbers and private list. The discrepancy between my public list, which lists 136 advertisers, and the New York Times’ report is the result of two issues:

Some advertisers drop Glenn Beck, but refuse to acknowledge it publicly.
Some advertisers pre-empt being the target of the advertiser boycott by simply excluding Glenn Beck from their ad agreements prior to airing their ads.

The NYT report also contained one other nugget:

Fox also has a difficult time selling ads on “The O’Reilly Factor” and “Fox and Friends” when Beck appears on those shows as a guest.

For those unaware, the StopBeck effort has been targeting companies whose ads appear on Fox & Friends or The O’Reilly Factor when Glenn Beck is present. It’s reassuring to hear that our efforts are having an effect there as well.

Stopped in the UK

Unfortunately, the NYT report did leave out the fact that the broadcast of Glenn Beck’s show in the UK has run with zero commercials for nearly 8 months. But, I’ll leave you with this parting observation from the report:

Beck’s show is known in the TV sales world as “empty calories,” meaning he draws great ratings but is toxic for ad sales. If nothing else, I sensed that people around Fox News have grown weary after months of “It’s all about Glenn.”

Great work all! See, your tweets and emails do matter.

Onward we go…

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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Beck's Apocalypse Now helps boost his investment in gold coins



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Although Glenn Beck has claimed that he "is not a prophet," he likes to tell his viewers that he "can see what's coming at us." This Review has previously debunked the notion that Beck can "see" the future, but if he does not scare millions into investing in gold, then the vastly over-priced gold coins that he purchased from Goldline will not become worth what he paid for them.

In The Backlash: Right-wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama, author Will Bunch points out that our nation "had never seen anything like this--Beck was having an oversized influence on the national conversation, but his core motivations seemed not so much to better America's condition as to improve his own bottom line....And there was a not-so-secret ingredient that made the entire recipe work: Fear."(1)

The following is a compilation of examples(2) of Beck's paranoid style in the promotion of fear-mongering:

Beck: "I'm not a prophet," but "I can see the direction of where we're headed." On the May 6 broadcast of his radio show, Beck claimed that he "can see what's coming at us. I look at the news, and I can piece it all together, and I can see it, but it's a flat puzzle -- and it comes together, and I can see the direction." Though he cautioned that he is "not a prophet, by any stretch of the imagination," he claimed to be "a guy who refuses to not think out of the box," one who is "willing to think the unthinkable." He also said: "I can't necessarily see the events, but I can see the direction of where we're headed. But I can't tell you how time -- how long and how far out it is. I have no idea. There's no depth to that. So I'm wrong. When I say to you this is coming, it could happen tomorrow, it could happen in five years, but it's coming."

Beck: "We are fighting the darkness." On his September 27 radio show, Beck recited the last line of the Constitution, "With firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor" and said: "I think I understand that now better than I ever had." He went on to say, "We are fighting, not flesh and blood, but we are fighting the darkness -- and the darkness doesn't understand the light at all. I've told you before that everything is about to change." He concluded: "Everything that you thought was rock solid is not. Everything that you thought was solid will be liquid; everything that is liquid will be solid. In other words, a fundamental transformation of everything that you thought you could count on."

Beck: "I think we're headed for a civil war." On his June 23 radio show, Beck pointed to the immigration debate in Arizona and said, "I think we're headed for a civil war." He added: "I've talked to a few senators off the record about what's going on, and I'm not sure what this is yet so I can't verify -- I mean, it has been verified to me in the Senate. But I just -- I don't want to tell you I think I know what's happening here yet because these people play so many games." Beck has also claimed that commerce disputes between states mean "you are heading for civil war" and has suggested that President Obama is pushing the country "into an area where civil war" is possible.

Beck: We have "never fought anything like the perfect storm that is coming to shore."On his August 12 radio show, Beck proceeded to tell his audience "what we're facing," citing the gloomy economic situation as an indication that "the worst" is not behind us. He then stated: "I don't want to tell you these things. I don't want to be the bearer of bad news," adding, "We are on the precipice of really now starting to understand how bad it is." He concluded: "Your economic picture is not good. Do you remember, if you've been a longtime listener of this program, I told you five years ago: perfect storm. And when it comes on shore -- we've never fought anything like it. We fought the Civil War, everything else -- we've never fought anything like the perfect storm that is coming to shore. I told you two years ago, the tip of it is now starting to enter our airspace. It's here and it is about to rock our world."

Beck explains how to survive what's "coming"

Beck: "Get to church." On his May 19 radio show, Beck pleaded with Americans to listen to him "carefully," and said: "Get to church. Get to church. Listen to your - listen to your inner voice. Please listen to your inner voice. Follow the Ten Commandments." He went on to say: "Prepare yourself and your family for tough times, and if you have the money or the ability, prepare your neighbors, your friends. Put extra food storage, extra things because others are going to need to get into a lifeboat. But prepare yourself."

Beck: "Do not prepare for just you, prepare for your neighbor as well." On his June 4 radio show, Beck told his listeners to prepare themselves because "cataclysmic change is coming," which "they're not telling you to do." He continued: "If I'm wrong, that's fine. If you're listening right now in your truck and you're like, 'Oh geez, this guy just won't shut up about' -- that's fine. Just don't come to your neighbor when all hell hits the fan and say, 'Hey, you gotta give me some of the food. You gotta help' -- no. Where were you?" Beck went on to say, "That's why I have asked you, on the air before, do not prepare for just you, prepare for your neighbor as well."

Beck: Make sure soldiers and cops know "who you are" and "that you are a law abiding citizen." During the May 19 broadcast of his radio show, Beck said, "Reach out to every service member. Reach out to every cop you know. Make sure they are very well aware of who you are. Make sure they understand that you are a law abiding citizen, you support the police officers." Beck added, "We are being pitted against each other, and I warn you: we have nothing but God on our side."

Beck: "If you're going to buy land, buy land with water rights." On his September 23 Fox News show, Beck seized on a government report describing factors that could shape the world in 2025 and said that, 15 years from now, there will be "unprecedented economic growth coupled with 1.5 billion more people" in the world. He then warned that "That will put pressure on resources, particularly energy and food and water, raising the specter of scarcity emerging as demand outstrips supply." He continued: "May I give you some advice if you're going to buy land? Buy land with water rights. Water. Mark my words. Tell your children. Water will be the next oil." [Accessed via Nexis]

Beck: "Buy a short-wave radio." On his June 18 radio show, Beck warned that the federal government could "shut down" Fox News, talk radio, and the Internet and claimed that "once they have control of your way to get the truth, there is no turning back." He then recommended two things to his listeners: "calling Washington and your senators" to tell them to "leave the Internet and man's right to free speech alone," or "buy[ing] a short-wave radio." He concluded: "You might want to do both."

Beck: "Please pray"; "get down on your knees." On his September 1, 2009, radio program, Beck told his listeners that "the best thing" they could do for the country would be to "please pray." He said God will protect the country if "we put ourselves back into the rightful place." Beck later stated: "That's what we're fighting against -- a perversion of this system. It's much worse than a collapse. It would almost make you hope for a collapse, if that indeed were true. I don't know what is true anymore. But get down on your knees, because you'll find it."

Beck: Look into "food insurance." On his September 24 radio show, Beck relayed a story about how "it's only a matter of time" before "hyperinflation is gonna happen," and "the treasuries ... start to tank" while "commodities go through the roof." Beck then asked: "Well, are you gonna be somebody who freaks out, or are you gonna be a leader?" He went on to promotefoodinsurance.com, which, he promised, "is a one-time, cost-effective solution for emergency food preparation" that he said could be used "in case something catastrophic happens." He later added: "Please check this out. It is really, really good food, lasts for 20 years. ... I have a year's worth. You should have a year's worth. Everyone should have a year's worth." He concluded by asking, "If we were all prepared, can you imagine the pressure that would come off of our country? Can you imagine the pressure that would come off of you?"

Beck: Catch up on your "homework" for the "whole end of time thing." Discussing how he wouldn't have cared about current events -- including what was going on in the Middle East -- before the 9-11 attacks, Beck said, "I wouldn't have known anything that was going on in the Middle East, nor did I care. Then, 9-11 happened, and we had to care. I went and I did my homework. ... If I was going to be a responsible adult and parent, I had to understand it." Beck then asked: "If you haven't done your homework yet, what is it going to take?" He followed with this advice: "I urge you to catch up on it and catch up on it fast. It's kind of important for a couple of reasons: one, the whole end of time thing and the tiny dependency on foreign oil detail." He concluded: "This is your country; you have to understand it. You lead the way. What is coming our way is not good."

Beck guest: "Grow your own food," "take up arms." On his February 11 Fox News show, Beck hosted investment analyst Damon Vickers, who offered advice on what the average person should do to prepare for "anarchy" in the coming "debt implosion." Vickers said that "individuals and families have to have the foresight -- that situational awareness -- to perhaps consider, you know, maybe, maybe having a farm, maybe growing your own food, maybe you need to take up arms if you haven't and learn to protect your family. The period that's emerging in front of us could be very, very scary." Beck interjected: "He's spookier than I am."

Beck: Buy gold to guard against "economic terror." Beck has warned about inflation, hyper-inflation, deflation, and economic crisis to promote gold. Beck has said "inflation is going to happen; you're gonna have deflation and then, most likely, hyper-inflation after that," that "what's happening in Europe is coming our way," and that "there's some economic terrorcoming our way." He has claimed that "Goldline is the escape" from the coming economic collapse and has pleaded that "now may be the perfect time to buy gold." Beck has compared gold to a "doorframe," which is the "safest place" in an earthquake, and has declared: "If you put your faith in man, God bless you. I can't wait to see the solution. But if you don't, I ask that you would consider -- it's not right for everybody and I don't buy it as an investment, although it has been the best investment I have purchased -- I ask you to look at gold as a relief valve."

Beck: Get a "screenshot" of things on the Internet because "stuff is being scrubbed overnight." On his May 13 radio show, Beck put out a call for "500,000 researchers" to "look into a few things" for him because "audio is being scrubbed off the Internet." He cautioned: "Do not email the link to me. ... You must pull it off of the Internet and save it to a DVD. You must pull these things off. Get a screenshot of things and pull any video off. Do not allow it to be housed on the Internet because it will be gone." He concluded: "Stuff is being scrubbed overnight. There's changes happening. Something has changed."

Beck advertiser offers "survival seeds" as defense against "emerging totalitarianism."On March 8, a company called Survival Seed Bank advertised on Beck's Fox News broadcast, warning that, "in an economic meltdown, nonhybrid seeds could become more valuable than even silver and gold." During the ad, a spokesman touted "the survival seed bank, the perfect mix of germination-tested, nonhybrid seeds" for "a full acre crisis garden that can produce an endless supply of nutrient-dense food for your and your family." The company's website also claims that "survival seeds" could guard against "emerging totalitarianism."

Beck to veterans: "Come out of retirement" to fight "the same damn hippies" who "have our country by the throat." On his June 21 radio show, Beck talked directly to veterans, telling them that "your mission is not complete." He went on to say that "[o]ur country needs patriots" for the "new battle that is raging in America," and that "[w]e need you now more than ever" to "teach the Constitution," "honor," and "the history of this country." He added: "Come out of retirement. We need you more than ever. I know, you've already done your service. You most likely were fighting in Vietnam, or you were fighting and standing up against the hippies in Vietnam. Well, they got our country by the throat right now. The same people that tried to destroy us in the 1960s are back at it again. And you pulled our butt out of the fire last time, and I'm sorry to do this to you, but it is your generation that is screwing it up -- not you -- but the same damn hippies that you have been fighting against your whole life."

Beck: "All aboard God's train. Buckle up, because trouble is coming." On his August 30 Fox News show, Beck advised his viewers that "it's about the truth" and imparted the following "message": "Listen carefully. I believe we're approaching a last call: All aboard God's train. Buckle up, because trouble is coming. Get behind the shield of God. That is the message." Beck also stated: "I think what God is telling us is get behind him -- I think that's what he's saying. Use him as a shield."

This recession has opened the door for a persuasive opportunist and gifted con-man to feed on people's uncertainty about the economy and thereby move markets, specifically the price of Glenn Beck's gold.

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1) The Backlash: Right-wing Radicals, High-Def Hucksters, and Paranoid Politics in the Age of Obama, Will Bunch, Harper Collins Publishers, New York, 2010, p. 242
2) http://mediamatters.org/research/201009280025

Monday, September 27, 2010

The Glenn Beck Report complements this Review



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Of all of the other blogs that are critical of Glenn Beck, The Glenn Beck Report is the most complementary to this Review. The author covers topics that this Review has not, such as the 12 values and 9 principles of his 9-12 movement, the history of progressivism, a word on indoctrination and recently a post on where Beck wanted to shove a carrot (up the 1st Lady's rectum).

This review of The Glenn Beck Report will not reprint any articles in full, but it will offer a comprehensive round up of what is on The Report. A disclaimer: This Review may not agree with every detail of analysis done on The Report, but when differences arise they will be pointed out in this post or in response to comments made below. The first point of difference is in the Report's use of "deconstruction," specifically with regard to the 12 values and 9 principles. In the view of this Review, Beck's words and ideas are not worthy of this approach. Deconstruction is a critical analysis of literary works and law. Thus, this Review has preferred the phrase "critical analysis" to the loftier efforts of deconstruction.

The Glenn Beck Report "deconstructs" Beck's 12 values in one post. Those values are: 1) honesty, 2) reverence, 3) hope, 4) thrift, 5) humility, 6) charity, 7) sincerity, 8) moderation, 9) hard work, 10) courage, 11) personal responsibility and finally 12) gratitude. The Report points out the contradictions and hypocrisy of Beck to support these values.

Glenn Beck's 9 Principles are a formula for hatred and division

image of courage

The Report "deconstructs" Beck's 9 principles in separate posts:

The authors of The Report have challenged Beck out to a "collegiate L-D style debate lengthened to use 1 hour on any issue you dispute on this website." That won't happen, but it's fun to contemplate. They have also defined many words that Beck misuses: communism, socialism, Marxism, fascism, nazism, progressivism and secularism. They offer a history of progressivism, so people can understand exactly what it is that Beck renders as a "cancer."

In contrast to this Review, where a lengthy, 2-part post by a Mormon critical of Mr. Beck has been reprinted, they offer a critical analysis of Mormonism, a "crackpot cult." Where this Review has offered a dialogical analysis of a couple of segments on his Fox show, The Report offers a minute by minute analysis of his June 29th and June 30th shows. The Report has a lengthy post entitled "Glenn Beck lies," and another one that is a "Lie of the Day Archive." One of those has to do with Beck's lie about Shirley Sherrod, but they missed what Beck had said on the radio before falsely claiming on Fox that he had only defended her.

Beck's Review image

Another contrast between this Review and the Report is the image chosen for Mr. Beck. The hope of this Review was that at least some of Beck's supporters would take the time to read this and consider that Beck may the be what he portrays himself to be. The Report's "image of courage" (above) may serve as more of an instant turn off rendering the critical analysis moot and unread. It's become clear, however, that his followers are intensely attached to Mr. Beck emotionally and their biased assimilation of analysis contained within this Review puts them on the offensive in their defense of this liar, hypocrite and fraud. No post here demonstrates this better than the article explaining that Beck lied, (white lies and flagrant lies) during his 8-28 "Restoring Honor" speech. Honor? What honor?

the whole truth? Not!

Their "Word on Indoctrination" is not about Glenn Beck but does cover the GOP. Mostly it warns parents about how their words affect their children, and it's worth reading. Finally, they have a September 19th post that warrants brief review. At the "Right Nation" convention in Chicago on the 17th this month, Beck said, “Get away from my french fries, Mrs. Obama. First politician that comes up to me with a carrot stick, I’ve got a place for it. And it’s not in my tummy.” The Report's retort was, "When did the Republicans become so desperate and cynical that they let a bastard like Beck stand before them and threaten Michelle Obama?" As appropriate that response was to Beck's crass notion, this Review has avoided - often with great discipline - calling Mr. Beck names. That allows Beck to accuse critical bloggers of "name calling." Since Beck likes to call the President and his men weasels, this one of Beck's many hypocrisies called out here on the Review. In fact, Glenn Beck is not a bastard; he's arrogant with his ignorance and deceitful with his "truth." Lies and hypocrisy are enough to send any elected politician to the private sector for good on election day. For the Tea Party, these qualities are called sincere, Christian patriotism. That demonstrates just how gifted and persuasive the con artist, Glenn Beck, is. God help us.

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Saturday, September 25, 2010

Beck cited text of an anti-Semite: hypocrite or ignorant fraud?



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On his Fox show of September 22, 2010, Glenn Beck's propaganda effort against effective governance employed the text of an infamous anti-Semite, Eustace Mullins, author of Secrets of the Federal Reserve. Mullins, who died in February this year, was a nationally known white supremacist and a 9-11 Truther who argued that the Israeli intelligence agency, Mossad, was behind the 9-11 attacks.

Beck was criticizing long dead U.S. diplomat, Edward House, for his suggestions about the Federal Reserve: "I am suggesting that the Central Board be increased from four members to five and their terms lengthened from eight to ten years. This would give stability and would take away the power of a President to change the personnel of the board during a single term of office." As Beck was speaking, the on-screen text(1) behind him indicated the source of this quote:

Mullins' anti-Semitism was rabid and well documented by the Anti-Defamation League.(2) This was not the first time that Beck has cited the work of renown anti-Semite. Previously, Beck promoted author Elizabeth Dilling, who like Mullins, was also a pro-Hitler racist and a rabid anti-Semite. Beck did not apologize for that effort.

The progressive media watchdog organization, Media Matters for America, has claimed in an e-mail that by showing Mullins' Secrets of the Federal Reserve, Beck demonstrated hypocrisy again in this case because of his criticism of Obama, green jobs adviser, Van Jones, as a signer (now removed) of the 9-11 Truth statement. That is perhaps too strong of a claim on their part at least with respect to Van Jones. It is unlikely that Beck was aware of Mullins' claims about who was behind 9-11. However, Beck claims to oppose racism, and for this he could be declared hypocritical for promoting Mullins' book. However, he did not exactly promote it; Beck merely cited the text and in all likelihood is ignorant of Mullins' racist views.

hypocrite, fake or both?

If Beck was aware of Mullins' views, then he indeed demonstrated hypocrisy again for citing this text. Conversely, if Beck just read what was placed in front of him on the teleprompter, then he's nothing more than an ignorant charlatan citing a reference that a genuine historian would not use as a source. Whoever supplied Beck with this resource information may or may not have known about Mullins' racist views. Either way, Glenn Beck is the propagandist citing the reference of an anti-Semite, and thus bears responsibility for it. Perhaps the most stunning hypocrisy here is that Beck engages in this effort in order to expose propaganda!(3)

In a world where integrity and honor matters, Beck would not be allowed to continue his yellow propaganda. However, Beck works for Fox, a political operation with one purpose: to undermine the Democrats and get Republican Tea Party candidates elected to office. In that effort, Fox is not fair, balanced, honest or honorable. For that matter, the conservative media watchdogs, Media Research Center, who avert their eyes away from Beck's deceptions, hypocrisies and ignorance, demonstrate their disregard for honesty, principles and informed punditry. There is indeed a vast, right-wing, tacit conspiracy to deceive the American public; and the last goal these folks have in mind is to restore honor or - for that matter - honorable journalism.

Update 10/4/2010: Because Barry Cooper, writing in the comments below, doesn't seem to be able to grasp the point of this criticism, namely that "the most stunning hypocrisy here is that Beck engages in this effort in order to expose propaganda," the following is the video where Beck's propaganda against progressive propaganda is expressed.

Mr. Cooper: propaganda against propaganda is hypocritical. Beck "hates" Woodrow Wilson; Beck is a hateful man. Not a very good Christian, i.e., a hateful man still not very far along on his recovery from being a self-proclaimed "dirt bag. "

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1) http://mediamatters.org/research/201009220060

2) http://www.adl.org/main_Extremism/eustace_mullins_dies.htm

3) http://mediamatters.org/research/201009220060 (listen to video clip)

Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Bias vs. truthiness: analyzing the media watchdogs



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"President Obama suffers from the most polarized situation in Washington that we've ever seen even maybe the time of Abraham Lincoln and the initiation of the war between the states...The number one factor [of misinformation about Obama] is Fox News, just totally distorting everything possible concerning the facts. I think their constant hammering away at these false premises about our incumbent president has a major impact on the consciousness of America. A lot of well-meaning people, including many of those in the Tea Party movement, believe what is said in this constant hammering away by Glenn Beck...."

former President Carter (1)

This Review of Glenn Beck's words, events and antics sometimes makes use of the liberal/progressive media watchdog organization Media Matters for America, based in Washington, DC. Their mission is to expose the false claims of conservative media, from websites, to talk radio to Fox News. When Glenn Beck speaks, someone there is listening, taking notes and following up with research that debunks some of his lies. Their website describes their mission:

Media Matters for America is a Web-based, not-for-profit, 501(c)(3) progressive research and information center dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media.
Launched in May 2004, Media Matters for America put in place, for the first time, the means to systematically monitor a cross section of print, broadcast, cable, radio, and Internet media outlets for conservative misinformation — news or commentary that is not accurate, reliable, or credible and that forwards the conservative agenda — every day, in real time.
Using the website mediamatters.org as the principal vehicle for disseminating research and information, Media Matters posts rapid-response items as well as longer research and analytic reports documenting conservative misinformation throughout the media. Additionally, Media Matters works daily to notify activists, journalists, pundits, and the general public about instances of misinformation, providing them with the resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.

On their site, the Glenn Beck section is 30 posts on each of 120 pages of research analyzing his false and sometimes absurd claims. There is also a sprinkling of posts among them listing the companies that still advertise on his Fox show.

There is, of course, a counter part on the right, the conservative Media Research Center. They describe their efforts as follows:

The mission of the Media Research Center, "America's Media Watchdog," is to bring balance to the news media. Leaders of America's conservative movement have long believed that within the national news media a strident liberal bias existed that influenced the public's understanding of critical issues. On October 1, 1987, a group of young determined conservatives set out to not only prove — through sound scientific research — that liberal bias in the media does exist and undermines traditional American values, but also to neutralize its impact on the American political scene. What they launched that fall is the now acclaimed — Media Research Center (MRC).

The MRC, headquartered in Alexandria, VA, began modestly with a handful of employees, a black and white TV, and a rented computer. The first order of business was to organize a research operation second to none. For years, conservatives could only present the anecdotal evidence of liberal journalists' bias — a question in this interview, a statement in that report. However, anecdotal examples of bias do not prove a liberal agenda. Only through thorough, comprehensive, and ongoing analysis based on quantitative and qualitative research can one document liberal bias in the media.

The result of the MRC’s work is a mountain of evidence to use in combating the undeniable bias. The key to the MRC’s effectiveness is the ability to prove bias by using scientific studies and word-for-word quotes from the media.

Through the MRC's successful implementation of the largest, most comprehensive media monitoring operation in the world, the MRC serves as the checks and balances on the Fourth Estate. Through its divisions, programs, and a marketing effort that never rests, the Media Research Center has become an institutionalized machine on the issue of balance in the press.

Why are the watchdogs of conservative media liberals and progressives and the watchdogs of liberal media conservative? Because this is how human perception works most effectively. MRC's section on Glenn Beck scrutinizes the bias of Beck's detractors without giving notice ever to Beck's many deceptions, reactionary bias or hyperbolic propaganda. Right wing bias gets ignored at the MRC as if it doesn't exist.

Similarly, Media Matters for America all but ignores "mainstream media" with a few exceptions. There is one page of posts on Anderson Cooper. They have also criticized the NY Times and the Washington Post, usually for inaccurate coverage of conservative media figures. Progressives are better suited to cast a critical eye toward conservatives and conservatives are better suited to cast a critical eye toward liberals. Why?

In his book, True Enough: Learning to Live in a Fact-Free Society, Farhad Manjoo describes how facts are created and disseminated for political purposes. He also conveys how people selectively perceive events such as a famous 1951 college football game where fans from the respective colleges both thought that their team played fair and the other team was playing dirty. This phenomenon is called selective perception:

Selective perception says that even when two people of opposing ideologies overcome their tendency toward selective exposure [conservatives viewing conservative media, liberals viewing liberal media] and choose to watch the same thing, they may still end up being pushed apart from each other. That's because they really won't experience the "same" thing--whether it's a football game, a presidential assassination, or a terrorist attack, each of them will have seen, heard, felt, and understood the "thing" vastly differentlyu from the others who have experienced it.(2)

Researchers at MRC don't turn a blind eye toward Beck's reactionary bias; they share it and cannot detect it. They cannot experience Beck's deceit although it's difficult from a liberal POV to understand how they can miss it. MRC and Media Matters for America both engage in selective exposure, and when they do examine the same event, a speech by President Obama perhaps, they will come away with different understandings about what he said. This isn't devious or intentional misinterpretation; it's part of the human condition. This is why it takes a liberal or progressive to critically analyze a media figure like Glenn Beck just as it takes conservatives to critically analyze a media figure like Keith Olbermann.

The distinction that needs to be drawn is between bias and truth. The most objective observer in the business has some bias. What subject is addressed, what questions are asked, what questions are not asked are are editorial decisions based upon what an individual values as important. Bias is inherent in all media. That is implicit in the truth mandala below.

Distorting the truth, on the other hand, is not inherent in any media. The circles around this mandala's edge represent various degrees of false claims. It is human to get the facts wrong on occasion; it is entirely something else altogether to not make corrections. Correcting mistakes is what gives journalists and media outlets credibility. Not correcting false claims and mistakes stems from "truthiness." This word was coined by comedian Stephen Colbert to describe the quality of something feeling true without any evidence suggesting that is actually pertains to the facts. Thus America is bifurcated into two halves whose beliefs could not be reconciled: people who "think with their head" and people who "know in their heart."(3) Like Colbert, Glenn Beck knows in his heart what is "true" about progressives, Obama, the Administration, health care reform, etc. He has often said, "This doesn't feel right."

extremely biased source of truthiness

It is the work of Media Matters for America, the Glenn Beck Report, News Hounds this Review and other efforts, including President Carter's observation, to put our leftward biases to the service of critical analysis and fact-checking to make others aware that what Glenn Beck "knows" in his heart does not often comport with what the rational mind determines to be the facts. This split between bias and truthiness is the struggle for accurate information in America, what reactionary radio host, Alex Jones, calls the Infowars. In this war, in this struggle for honest facts, the first victim is the truth. If truthiness prevails in this struggle, the last victim will be our democratic order.

Before more people start swallowing Beck's truthiness,

get involved