Lehrer Newshour covers Glenn Beck et al

[scandal 951]

The Lehrer Newshour had a really good piece tonight about the rise of TV and radio talk shows.

I don't watch Fox News or listen to talk radio, so I had never even heard of Glenn Beck, or for that matter of Keith Olbermann, until the names kept popping up here on VJ threads. So it was interesting to hear a PBS take on the phenomenon. I clipped a bit of the transcript and posted it here. It's rather long, so I didn't post it all. I strongly suggest following the web link and watching the streaming video clip. It's not a Youtube, so I don't see any way to directly import the video here on VJ thread.

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/media/july-...kers_11-04.html

TV, Radio Talkers Shaping Political Discourse in U.S.

Jeffrey Brown examines the impact of television and radio talk show hosts and how they affect the way Americans think about politics.

JIM LEHRER: Next tonight: the TV talkers and their impact on how the rest of us talk politics.

Jeffrey Brown reports.

GLENN BECK, Host, "Glenn Beck": If it wasn't for FOX or talk radio, we would be done as a republic.

JEFFREY BROWN: In a multimedia world of talk and more talk, the latest big talker is Glenn Beck, known for his folksiness and emotion, which sometimes spills over to tears...

GLENN BECK: I just love my country.

JEFFREY BROWN: ... and, most of all, for his over-the-top style and words, which, for many, push the limits of acceptable public rhetoric.

GLENN BECK: ... is that there are Marxist revolutionaries who have dedicated themselves to principles that will destroy our nation as we know it.

I'm saying he has a problem. He has a -- this guy is, I believe, a racist.

JEFFREY BROWN: Since moving from CNN Headline News to FOX last year, Beck has successfully built up his cable TV audience. He now reaches almost three million viewers with his 5:00 p.m. show, unseating FOX's Sean Hannity for the number-two spot, right behind the network's Bill O'Reilly. On radio, Beck's audience of nine million is second only to Rush Limbaugh.

All of these talk show hosts far exceed the numbers of their liberal counterparts. And, as the numbers grow, so has the attention in other media, and Beck's seeming influence on the national agenda.

Beck is a persistent critic of the president and his policies. Among much else, he helped rally opponents to show up and speak up at this summer's town hall meetings on health care, and led the way on exposing problems with ACORN, the community organizing group that ran into numerous public controversies.

.... cont...

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Great piece. I just watched the segment.

I can't remember the woman who was speaking during the segment, but she mentioned how such talk drives political discourse among regular people...and it's so true. Look at how most of the political threads quickly become cafeteria food fights.

[Susita 175]

Nice catch Ron... great segment.

Although I have to admit I watch Keith Olbermann I don't believe he's nearly as extreme as any of the conservative radio hosts. Lehrer did a great job with this.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It does indeed drive political discourse. Unfortunatey it does so in the most moronic, adversarial manner.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Glenn Beck! FTW!