Last updated on August 10th, 2014 at 05:02 pm
Could Glenn Beck be helping Jon Stewart's ratings?
On his radio show today, Glenn Beck displayed how much fame has gone to his head, while name dropping some celebrities and the fact that he was at the Time 100 Most Influential People banquet last night, Beck said, “It’s like Jon Stewart. Jon Stewart’s not thinking yeah get that guy off the air. I’m good for him and his ratings.” Beck keeps selling himself on the idea that the ship isn’t sinking.
Here is the audio courtesy of Media Matters:
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Beck said, “So last night, I am at this Time Most Influential People and like everybody’s there, everybody’s there. Loren Michaels I talked to him last night from Saturday Night Live. He was a very nice guy and the guy who was with me said, wow, he is a fan of the show, and I said what makes you say that, well he said to you before we left, you know, hey you just keep, stay on the air brother, stay on the air, and I said, he’s not a fan of the show. I’m good for comedy. I’m good for their comedy. It’s like Jon Stewart. Jon
Stewart’s not thinking yeah get that guy off the air. I’m good for him and his ratings.”
Glenn Beck’s self delusional ego centrism doesn’t hold up when you actually look at the ratings. Stewart’s program averages 1.5-2 million viewers, but the average tends to be closer to 2 million. Beck, since his free fall, is averaging about 2.1-2.4 million viewers a day. Beck’s program has lost 30% of its viewers, while John Stewart’s The Daily Show has grown by 9%. So the numbers don’t back up Glenn Beck’s claim that he helps ratings.
Beck sells himself as an uneducated common man, but yet he is on his radio show pumping up his own ego by name dropping. It is apparent that Glenn is having trouble dealing with the fact that he is not the media golden boy of 2009 anymore. Jon Stewart has become a recurring theme with Beck, who has gone as far as to say that his radio show used to be the conservative Jon Stewart.
The reality is Beck gets featured on Stewart’s show due to his campaigns of blatant distortion and misinformation. Stewart is not trying to boost his ratings when he discusses Beck. He is either skewing the absurdity of Beck or correcting more Beck misinformation. If Glenn hosted a news show that was based in facts, Jon Stewart might never talk about him, but that would not be good for the increasingly fragile ego of Glenn Beck.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
