- Joined
- Feb 6, 2010
- Messages
- 3,779
- Reaction score
- 1,078
- Location
- California
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Moderate
FOX news and Glenn Beck are both apolitical. Yes, that is an entirely serious statement. First, we'll talk about FOX itself then move on to Beck.
FOX Entertainment group operates companies that usually fall under the umbrella of their parent corporation's name; their bread and butter is entertainment. But in an interesting business move, FOX started taking a look at where non-entertainment media was consumed. Aside from entertainment, news is the next biggest product of mass media. News as business was already somewhat of a trend by the time FOX News came around in 1996, but there seems to have been an observation made. What if the principles of mass media, specifically the rule of "give the people what they want", were applied to news? A further examination of news and it's consumption in the US at the time would probably find that the most concentrated track was from politically conservative Republicans, they watch TV and get their news from TV more than most other political groups. This is less true now than the late 90's. Conservative talk radio was and still is huge, so FOX decides to create a news network designed with a political slant towards the biggest potential audience. The idea being that politically conservative Americans would want to tune into a news network that reinforced and complimented their point of view without challenging it and making them feel good about being conservative.
It also helped that the Republican party was and still is a political force that can bring significant influence to the table. It's a ready-made market that was not being exploited at the time FOX News was incepted. FOX may employ people who are politically motivated, but at the end of the day, FOX News does the same job that the rest of the FOX subsidiaries do; they give a certain market what they want in exchange for business.
A business feigning sides for business reasons is pretty par for the course, but what gets really interesting is when Glenn Beck enters the scene. Beck is someone who plays the part of a passionate patriot; he whips up his audience with the fervor of a televangelist and appears as a Moses with an American flag.
The problem with this image is Beck himself. In several interviews with FORBES magazine, Beck has said straight out "I hate politics, I don’t care about politics." In the same interview, he talks at length about his "brand" and "image" and how important those things are. This isn’t the talk of someone who bawls his eyes out on national television in opposition of a new bill, but rather the talk of a very shrewd businessman.
Beck has essentially taken the playbook of FOX one step further by saying "Conservatives would love to watch someone who agrees with everything they said and acted like a cheerleader for their side." So Beck becomes an actor, playing the part of an almost Guevaran figure to the conservative audience and appealing to emotional aspects of patriotism and using select facts to paint a picture that appeals to his audiences.
Helping with this persona are deliberate deviations from the stereotypical conservative mold, which would cause him to be dismissed by non-conservatives as a true yes-man and damage his brand. Beck occasionally takes "un-conservative" positions to appeal to the emerging conservative Libertarian base so that he can claim he is speaking from the heart and not trying to blindly follow party lines. These deviations help reinforce his independent image and to support his claims that he does what he does for love of country. Beck's small sins against the stereotypical conservative positions are usually not dramatic but enough to catch people's attention; an inflammatory statement about Obama and race, shouting down someone on his radio show, or hinting encouragements towards more rebellions individuals.
FOX and Beck have a symbiotic relationship; FOX gives Beck a televangelist's platform with which to preach and Beck builds FOX News' image as a news network for the conservative American. Neither side actually cares about politics, the money is more important
I propose this as theory only and readily admit that I have no supporting documentary evidence for FOX's intentions. Only that such a move is a profoundly slick business idea and makes sense on a logical level. Additionally, if Beck were a genuine conservative Guevara who did believe everything he said, it's unlikely FOX would keep him around long because such personalities are unpredictable and FOX risks Beck turning on them for ideological reasons. Conversely, if Beck were simply a modern PT Barnum and FOX News was truly motivated by ideology, Beck would probably avoid the situation as it would be a business risk for the same reason. Strong ideology and profit motive generally don’t mix very well.
I can provide a link to the Beck FORBES interview if anyone is interested.
FOX Entertainment group operates companies that usually fall under the umbrella of their parent corporation's name; their bread and butter is entertainment. But in an interesting business move, FOX started taking a look at where non-entertainment media was consumed. Aside from entertainment, news is the next biggest product of mass media. News as business was already somewhat of a trend by the time FOX News came around in 1996, but there seems to have been an observation made. What if the principles of mass media, specifically the rule of "give the people what they want", were applied to news? A further examination of news and it's consumption in the US at the time would probably find that the most concentrated track was from politically conservative Republicans, they watch TV and get their news from TV more than most other political groups. This is less true now than the late 90's. Conservative talk radio was and still is huge, so FOX decides to create a news network designed with a political slant towards the biggest potential audience. The idea being that politically conservative Americans would want to tune into a news network that reinforced and complimented their point of view without challenging it and making them feel good about being conservative.
It also helped that the Republican party was and still is a political force that can bring significant influence to the table. It's a ready-made market that was not being exploited at the time FOX News was incepted. FOX may employ people who are politically motivated, but at the end of the day, FOX News does the same job that the rest of the FOX subsidiaries do; they give a certain market what they want in exchange for business.
A business feigning sides for business reasons is pretty par for the course, but what gets really interesting is when Glenn Beck enters the scene. Beck is someone who plays the part of a passionate patriot; he whips up his audience with the fervor of a televangelist and appears as a Moses with an American flag.
The problem with this image is Beck himself. In several interviews with FORBES magazine, Beck has said straight out "I hate politics, I don’t care about politics." In the same interview, he talks at length about his "brand" and "image" and how important those things are. This isn’t the talk of someone who bawls his eyes out on national television in opposition of a new bill, but rather the talk of a very shrewd businessman.
Beck has essentially taken the playbook of FOX one step further by saying "Conservatives would love to watch someone who agrees with everything they said and acted like a cheerleader for their side." So Beck becomes an actor, playing the part of an almost Guevaran figure to the conservative audience and appealing to emotional aspects of patriotism and using select facts to paint a picture that appeals to his audiences.
Helping with this persona are deliberate deviations from the stereotypical conservative mold, which would cause him to be dismissed by non-conservatives as a true yes-man and damage his brand. Beck occasionally takes "un-conservative" positions to appeal to the emerging conservative Libertarian base so that he can claim he is speaking from the heart and not trying to blindly follow party lines. These deviations help reinforce his independent image and to support his claims that he does what he does for love of country. Beck's small sins against the stereotypical conservative positions are usually not dramatic but enough to catch people's attention; an inflammatory statement about Obama and race, shouting down someone on his radio show, or hinting encouragements towards more rebellions individuals.
FOX and Beck have a symbiotic relationship; FOX gives Beck a televangelist's platform with which to preach and Beck builds FOX News' image as a news network for the conservative American. Neither side actually cares about politics, the money is more important
I propose this as theory only and readily admit that I have no supporting documentary evidence for FOX's intentions. Only that such a move is a profoundly slick business idea and makes sense on a logical level. Additionally, if Beck were a genuine conservative Guevara who did believe everything he said, it's unlikely FOX would keep him around long because such personalities are unpredictable and FOX risks Beck turning on them for ideological reasons. Conversely, if Beck were simply a modern PT Barnum and FOX News was truly motivated by ideology, Beck would probably avoid the situation as it would be a business risk for the same reason. Strong ideology and profit motive generally don’t mix very well.
I can provide a link to the Beck FORBES interview if anyone is interested.
