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Like radio addresses from the presidents, and urgent messages sent by telegraph, Glenn Beck's time on Fox News has at last come to an end. Confirming rumors that his departure was imminent, the conservative talk show host, had his finale on Thursday, leaving Fox News behind to start his own 'fair and unbiased' network.
Beck will next try his hand at internet television, as the vivacious commentator will be starting GBTV, for paying subscribers this September.
He couldn't end his show without one more impassioned speech from his trademark chalkboards, where he often wove tales of vast world conspiracies; including the claim that the political unrest in Egypt will lead to an Islamic Caliphate taking control of the Middle East.
Beck took stabs at all his critics, most notably his erstwhile foe from the Daily Show, Jon Stewart, saying he produced his show with only two writers while Stewart needed a team for his shorter show. Perhaps having a team of writers would have kept Beck from spewing the comments about the President's 'deep-seated hatred of white people' that lost his show most of its sponsors.
Conveniently there was no mention of the roundtable show called “The Five”, that will take over his time slot on Fox News. Beck was also adamant that he was running to something, not running away from anything, because his show isn't just a television program, but a “movement” that is too large for TV.
“It belongs in your heart. It belongs in your neighborhood” he told viewers, after stating that he wanted to be more than just a commentator.
Beck sounded as if he may be considering a future run at political office, but for now, those who don't share his views on America and the world will be glad his influence is off the airwaves until GBTV is launched.
Beck came into television prominence around the time of President Obama's inauguration, drawing unprecedented audiences in his time slot, with his conservative populism, conspiracies etched on blackboards, and the occasional John Boehner-esque on air cry.
Beck did however revert to his signature strategy of claiming that people disagreeing with his intricate conspiracy theories, are proof he was right.
“I'm the only host who is supposedly the most dangerous person in America because of my influence and the least influential person in America because my ratings are supposedly declining” Beck boasted. The Nielsen Co. reported that his ratings had fallen 23 percent this year compared to this same time last year. Beck's ratings were already dropping, as his dark warnings of coming world events grew even more complex and the consequences of those events were spun as increasingly catastrophic. By the time he made the absurd claim that the President is a racist, he was already headed for his ending at Fox News.
He feuded with many other television personalities, including the hosts of the daily roundtable show “The View”, but Stewart was far and away the most notable and most in depth rivalry Beck had with any other media personality. Stewart's impersonation of Beck's chalkboard speeches and his usual edgy antics—though written by an inferior staff according to Beck's final monologue, were enough to force Beck to mention him in his final address to a national audience.
He had nothing but good things to say about Fox News, and his site will even be run by a former Fox executive. After 29 months on the job, both sides seemed mutually happy about the split, with the relationship between the two souring over issues of content control.
Beck announced to Internet viewers on GBTV that he's hired a “community organizer” to help pull together people who share his views into a group. The plan is ambitious, and if it goes well Glen Beck's name may show up on a 2016 ballot.
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