Glenn Beck Program

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The Glenn Beck Program is an American radio show hosted by conservative commentator Glenn Beck on Premiere Radio Networks. Since its inception as a nationally-syndicated show in 2002, the Program has become the third-highest-rated show among adults ages 25 to 54. Furthermore, it has made Beck a star of the conservative media, with a popular television show on Headline News, two bestselling books, a magazine, and a stage tour.

Contents

[edit] History

In 2000, The Glenn Beck Program began airing on WFLA (AM) in Tampa, Florida. He inherited the 18th placed position at WFLA-AM and quickly gained popularity in its afternoon slot. Within one year of doing his first talk show in afternoon drive at WFLA, Beck dominated the ratings, giving the station its first #1 program ever. Due to the overwhelming demand for live, news oriented programming after September 11, 2001, Beck was offered a jump start on national syndication. This resulted in early affiliations with stations such as KPRC/Houston, WGST/Atlanta, WSPD/Toledo, Ohio and WOAI/San Antonio.[1] In January 2002, syndicator Premiere Radio Networks launched the show on 47 stations. The show was then moved to "The Big Talker 1210" WPHT-AM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Beck ran a series of rallies called "Glenn Beck's Rally for America" during 2003 in support of the troops fighting the war in Iraq. While generally attended by war supporters, Beck spoke of many who "disagreed with the war, but still supported the troops". He ran the final rally at Marshall University over the Memorial Day weekend. The event drew about 25,000 people. 2005 marked a year of substantial ratings growth. The program ended the year being heard on more than 200 stations, and was the third highest-rated national radio talk show among adults ages 25 to 54 according to Premiere Research/Arbitron. On January 17, 2006 Beck explained his recent three week absence with the announcement that he was beginning a new television show at CNN Headline News. To accommodate the new show, Beck relocated his studios to Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

The show added its 300th affiliate in 2008.

[edit] Format

Combining elements of the comedy-centric hot talk format and more traditional talk-radio shows like Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity, the Program has cultivated a unique style of humor, political commentary, and personal reflections from the host.

The first half of each hour of the show is usually monologue by Beck, but occasionally will include a guest or some conversation with the production staff. During the second half of each hour, Beck takes callers and continues discussing the themes he has previously introduced.

[edit] Comedy bits

Beck and his staff frequently write and produce comedy bits which parody political or social oddities and play them on the show. The bits are either played at the beginning of a segment, or are cleverly written into the dialog script. Examples include Beck playing the song "I Like Chinese" in connection with stories about the People's Republic of China, and spin-off song "I Like the French" with stories about France. Both ridicule the target nation. He also plays the Bob Wills song "Roly Poly," a song about a fat kid that will eat anything, when talking about Michael Moore. Other bits have included "The Jim Dingell Show", "The United Nations Shuffle", and "Real American A-Holes", a parody of the Anheuser-Busch ads.

One politically-oriented bit ran while the show was still in the Tampa market on 970 WFLA, during the aftermath of the Florida 2001 election. Every time an Al Gore supporter would call for "yet another" recount, Beck responded by getting so angry he was "bleeding out of (his) eyes" (see below). A staffer would then respond by playing Wayne Newton's version of "Danke Schoen", to which Beck would respond by entering an extremely relaxed state.

[edit] Mor(e)on Trivia

During the NFL season, Beck will pick an upcoming game (more often than not, the Monday night game) and then randomly call convenience store employees in the cities which are home to the opposing teams. Pretending to be "Flap Jackson" of fictional radio station "109.9 - The Big Frog" (a direct spoof of the Froggy franchise of radio stations), Beck asks the unwitting guests easy questions about current events. Points are tallied for the competing cities when correct answers are given, but often people are unable to answer correctly, which is a source of comedy.[2] Beck uses Mor(e)on Trivia to attempt to predict the winner of the upcoming football game and Mor(e)on Trivia has overall accuracy rate of 63.4 percent.[3]

[edit] Glennisms

Several mannerisms specific to Beck help to brand the show. Fans of the Glenn Beck Program are often called "Sick Twisted Freaks", as a homage to controversial broadcaster Bob Grant, who was often very aggressive on the air. Beck has also used Grant's infamous line "Get off my phone!" when he dumps a caller. Signature phrases such as "I'm just sayin'", "For the Love of Pete", "Glenn Beck Ballpark Fact", "So mad, blood was shooting from my eyes", and "Not so much" are heard frequently. He also likes to say he would like to "wet kiss" male guests who agree with him on a particular issue. Stu is quick to make fun of Beck during the show for any egregious display of a Glennism and will even go so far as to replay the audio segment to enhance the 'making-fun-of-Glenn' experience.

Like other talk show hosts, he does give certain figures nicknames. For example, he calls Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad "President Tom".

[edit] Ratings

According to Talkers Magazine, Beck's program is presently in the fourth highest spot in the ratings[4], although Beck often touts his as the "third most-listened-to show in all of America."

[edit] Substitute hosts

Every so often Beck is absent from the program due to sickness or vacation. On those occasions, The Best of Glenn Beck (a rerun) will be played, or a substitute host will be asked to fill in for Beck. Some of the hosts that have been used in the past include:

[edit] Affiliates

The Glenn Beck Program can be heard on 300 stations across the US. Visit GlennBeck.com for a complete affiliate listing.

[edit] Streaming audio

These affiliates stream audio from the radio show during the indicated times:

[edit] Tours

The Glenn Beck Program has put on two US-wide comedy tours.

Glenn Beck: On Ice (2005)
Tuesday, June 7: Oprheum Theatre - Memphis,TN
Wednesday,  June 8: Tenn. Performing Arts Center - Nashville, TN
Thursday, June 9: The Forum - Harrisburg, PA
Friday, June 10:  Stranahan Theatre - Toledo, OH
Saturday, June 11: Murat Center - Indianapolis, IN
Monday, June 13: Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center  - Tampa, FL
Tuesday, June 14: Keswick Theatre - Philadelphia, PA
Friday, June 17: Nob Hill Masonic Center - San Francisco, CA

Glenn Beck: An Inconvenient Tour (2007)
Saturday, June 2: Morrison Center - Boise, ID
Monday, June 4: Kimmel Center - Philadelphia, PA
Wednesday,  June 6: Landmark Theatre - Syracuse, NY
Friday, June 8: Ohio Theatre - Columbus, OH
Saturday, June 9: Fox Theatre - St. Louis, MO
Monday, June 11: Meyerson Symphony Center  - Dallas, TX
Wednesday, June 13:  Majestic Theatre - San Antonio, TX
Friday, June 15: CMAC - Rochester, NY
Saturday, June 16: Koger Center - Columbia, SC

[edit] References

  1. ^ http://www.glennbeck.com/news/pr010301.shtml
  2. ^ Moron Trivia
  3. ^ Moron Trivia
  4. ^ TALKERS magazine - The Top Talk Radio Audiences

[edit] External links