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serious. uh... yeah...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.
huh? THAT is the operating principle of ANY business. In that pursuit, you determine if there is a market sufficient to the supply. If so, you target the market. FOX is not attempting to target those interested in information, but those eager for vitriolic propaganda.What if the principles of mass media, specifically the rule of "give the people what they want", were applied to news?
sure... maybe I could buy that, IF the corporation and the neo-fascist behind all that garbage were not buying up legitimate news outlets around the world in order to promote his 'power to the rich' political messageThe 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.
which might be acceptable if they included NEWS in there somewhere.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.
emm... t'anks.... b'lieve i'll pass on that.I can provide a link to the Beck FORBES interview if anyone is interested.
Im sure they do share some ideological bases but I would be willing to bet that overwhelmingly it's the drive to make money that is first and foremost. Politics gets in the way of profitYou make some really interesting points. But so does Geo Patric. It's not as if the ideology being espoused by Fox and Beck aren't the truly-held beliefs of Roger Ailes and Rupert Murdoch. I suspect the truth is somewhere in between.
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 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.
Im not supporting or defending Beck, I'm simply trying to dispel the idea that Beck and FOX are ideologically motivated. The quicker everyone sees that Beck is basically a televangelist for the Conservative movement, the quicker we can get to ignoring his very marketable "brand"
Politics gets in the way of profit
It seems like your first sentence is in conflict with your second sentence.Im not supporting or defending Beck, I'm simply trying to dispel the idea that Beck and FOX are ideologically motivated. The quicker everyone sees that Beck is basically a televangelist for the Conservative movement, the quicker we can get to ignoring his very marketable "brand"
I use the term "televangelist" with the connotation of someone who professionally acts as a spiritual leader for the purpose of making money. My fault for not being clearer.It seems like your first sentence is in conflict with your second sentence.
If Beck is a "televangelist for the Conservative movement" that means that Beck is ideologically motivated. Right?
This kind of move helps boost FOX's image with it's audience.Fox News donated money to the RNC recently and Murdoch has publically stated that he crafted his message to support the War in Iraq for Bush.
It's an interesting idea you have there, actually.I use the term "televangelist" with the connotation of someone who professionally acts as a spiritual leader for the purpose of making money. My fault for not being clearer.
This kind of move helps boost FOX's image with it's audience.
It's an interesting idea you have there, actually.
Pundits from Fox News have said, publicly, that Obama's election has helped them and their ratings. I'm sure many producers at Fox celebrated McCain's defeat. But there certainly are some on Fox who have a political agenda. Rupert Murdoch, owner of NewsCorp (which owns Fox), is certainly someone who hopes to shape public opinion with his media. He has said so publicly, on the record. But the big picture is still probably all the same. If Fox is really hoping Democrats keep office, so they can continue their narrative as the 'under dog' then... well, you could also argue that nothing in politics matters because everyone who gets elected is connected with the same interest groups, who make sure the status quo is maintained.
I know that sounds off the rocker, but so does this threads premise. In spite of that, I think you made a clever argument.
Not necessarily. Especially when the politics you're espousing helps elect a GOP majority in congress that will vote against repealing the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 5%. It's a pretty sweet racket they have going when they can profit off of the fears of conservatives and swing public opinion towards the party that has their best interests at heart.
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 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.
I use the term "televangelist" with the connotation of someone who professionally acts as a spiritual leader for the purpose of making money. My fault for not being clearer.
Beck is not a SPIRITUAL leader, I used the term to indicate someone who makes money by faking being spiritual. In this case, Beck is faking being conservative in order to make money.Your theory holds no water since it's not Beck that's the spiritual leader, but 240 Jews, Christians and Muslims that are the new Black Robe Regiment. Beck just brought them together.
There are people who oppose Beck who buy Beck's act. He is very good, I have to give him that much.I think Beck is so different than anything people have ever seen on cable news that they think he MUST be a fraud. And if he is a fraud, that means he believes nothing that he says. So why all the uproar on this board over everything he says? According to you, he doesn't believe it anyway.
Beck is not a SPIRITUAL leader, I used the term to indicate someone who makes money by faking being spiritual. In this case, Beck is faking being conservative in order to make money.
There are people who oppose Beck who buy Beck's act. He is very good, I have to give him that much.
Your theory holds no water since it's not Beck that's the spiritual leader, but 240 Jews, Christians and Muslims that are the new Black Robe Regiment. Beck just brought them together.
I think Beck is so different than anything people have ever seen on cable news that they think he MUST be a fraud. And if he is a fraud, that means he believes nothing that he says. So why all the uproar on this board over everything he says? According to you, he doesn't believe it anyway.
Beck is an entertainer, it doesn't mean he's a fraud but it does mean that he has found a niche audience to market his "product" to.
He says all the same things that other Right wing pundits say, just packaged differently.
The "uproar" comes from the ignorance of people who eat this garbage up.
He is hyperbolic because he knows, his audience loves it.
It doesn't matter if he believes it or not, he's making bank because a ton of you are watching it.
Ultimately, these people would exist without Beck to feed into their paranioa. Looking at it that way, you really can't blame him for tapping into a ready market.
I couldnt say.So if he's faking being a conservative.....what is he really?
I couldnt say.
My bet would be he really is apolitical or that he supports politics that guarantee his revenue stream. Free market, free speech, etc etc.
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