CNN's Headline News picks would-be killer Glenn Beck as host

[Douglas Carpenter]

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2803

Action Alert

CNN's "Cordial" Hire
Headline News picks would-be killer Glenn Beck as host

1/18/06

CNN’s Headline News has hired radio talkshow host Glenn Beck to host a one-hour primetime show, according to a Daily Variety report (1/17/05). Variety quotes CNN Headline News president Ken Jautz's description of Beck: "Glenn’s style is self-deprecating, cordial; he says he'd like to be able to disagree with guests and part as friends. It's conversational, not confrontational."

But Glenn Beck’s hateful rhetoric tells a different story.

Beck, best known for setting up Clear Channel's pro-war Rallies for America shortly before the Iraq War, once described how much he loathed anti-war presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (WABC-AM, 3/16/03): "Every night I get down on my knees and pray that Dennis Kucinich will burst into flames."

In 2004, Beck called Michael Berg, whose son had been beheaded in Iraq, "despicable" and a "scumbag" because the elder Berg criticized George W. Bush in the wake of his son’s death. (Mediamatters.org, 5/17/04)

On May 17, 2005, Beck fantasized about murdering anti-war filmmaker Michael Moore (Mediamatters.org, 5/18/05):

"I'm thinking about killing Michael Moore, and I'm wondering if I could kill him myself, or if I would need to hire somebody to do it. No, I think I could. I think he could be looking me in the eye, you know, and I could just be choking the life out--is this wrong?"

Beck also accused Moore of "taking help and money from Hezbollah."

He wasn’t much more charitable to victims of Hurricane Katrina, some of whom he called "scumbags." On September 9, Beck said that Katrina victims caused a "near riot" when ATM cards were distributed to the displaced (Mediamatters.org, 9/9/05):

"When you are rioting for these tickets, or these ATM cards, the second thing that came to mind was--and this is horrible to say, and I wonder if I'm alone in this--you know it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims' families? Took me about a year.... But the second thought I had when I saw these people and they had to shut down the Astrodome and lock it down, I thought: I didn't think I could hate victims faster than the 9/11 victims.... And that's all we're hearing about, are the people in New Orleans. Those are the only ones we're seeing on television are the scumbags--and again, it's not all the people in New Orleans. Most of the people in New Orleans got out! It's just a small percentage of those who were left in New Orleans, or who decided to stay in New Orleans, and they're getting all the attention."

In the same broadcast, he explained his animus against the relatives of September 11 victims (while maintaining that "of the 3,000 victims' families, I don't hate all of them. Probably about 10 of them"): "When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I'm just like, 'Oh shut up!' I'm so sick of them because they're always complaining. And we did our best for them."

The strategy of out-Foxing Fox by signing up incendiary right-wing talkshow hosts is a dangerous one, as MSNBC found when it gave a show to hate-radio star Michael Savage and had to let him go when it turned out that his TV persona spouted the same vitriol featured on his radio show (FAIR Action Alert, 7/7/03). Headline News executives may put Glenn Beck on the air in spite of his hateful baggage, but they shouldn’t be surprised if he doesn’t turn out to be the "cordial" and tolerant host they are touting.

ACTION: Contact Ken Jautz and ask him to explain his characterization of Beck as "cordial." Ask him if CNN Headline News supports the hateful and violent commentary Beck is known for.

CONTACT:
Ken Jautz
President, CNN Headline News
[phone]

E-mail Headline News:

http://edition.cnn.com/feedback/forms/form1.html?33

[boobooday]

1. Somebody's holding back . . .

Seriously, is it proper for CNN to make money off this guy's mental illness?

"Took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victim's families . . ."

OMG. :puke:

Glenn Bexcrement.

[Punkingal]

2. I called and emailed....

This is just an outrage. I will never have CNN on again.

[roguevalley]

3. cancel pipeline if you have it and tell them why

[mcscajun]

4. My e-mail to CNN/Headline News - sent this evening.

Glenn Beck is nothing more than a bigot with a microphone, and now CNN is going to give him face time on a national news network?

You've just joined Fox News down in the gutter of what used to pass for responsible journalism.

With any luck at all, Beck will say something so egregiously offensive that you'll have to cancel his contract within six weeks. Barring that, you can expect your ratings to plummet wildly.

This is the same man who mused publicly on the idea of killing Michael Moore, said he hated the 9/11 families, and called Cindy Sheehan, the mother of a soldier killed in Bush's war on Iraq "the bitch in the ditch".

The decision to hire this hate-monger is a pathetic move by CNN management to pander to the lowest elements of our society, so CNN looks to become yet another bottom-feeder news network.

[CherokeeDem]

5. My Email to Mr. Jautz

TO: Ken Jautz
President, CNN Headline News
404) 878-5633

Re: Glenn Beck

Mr. Jautz:

Is THIS what you call "self-deprecating, cordial"?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inserted "Douglas Carpenter's" compilation of Beck quotes. (Geez, the guy really is a despicable human being.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I do believe that Headline News has "Jumped the Shark" and become Fox Light. How you can even pretend to call yourselves a news organization when you are obviously pandering to the 30% of nut cases in this country that think like this moron? The recent hirings at CNN and Headline news only belie the sensational tabloid journalism and the obvious bias that the news has become. Only a handful of reporters even seem to be willing to even ask serious questions. The rest are SO concerned about Aruba and Michael and Brittany whatever sex they are having; no wonder you went after Clinton...he had sex and that seems to be all you get excited about. You really don't seem to get excited about soldiers dying, the President lying us into war, stripping us of our civil liberties, destroying the middle class, watching people die because they don't have health care. Those are such boring stories!

The one thing I can say for you is that at least you don't have Rita Cosby...but then you do have Nancy Grace and Paula Zahn. Congratulations, you do win the Bimbo award.

How I would love to have Ted Turner back.

Deb
Miami, FL

~~~~~~~~"DC" Thanks for the list of quotes from that moron, or should I say MORAN!

[Douglas Carpenter]

6. thanks but actually these quotes are provided by the good people at FAIR

Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

link:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=2803

sorry, it was my mistake not to emphasize that more.

And while I am at it let me plug FAIR - they provide great Action Alerts and produce the ABSOLUTELY BEST weekly half hour radio program about misreporting in the mainstream media, CounterSpin which is heard on 125 radio stations across North America and can be streamed with RealPlayer or downloaded with MP3 (Windows Media). A new program is released every Friday afternoon

link to FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting):

http://www.fair.org/index.php

Link to CounterSpin:

http://www.fair.org/index.php?page=5

[Turborama]

7. Glenn Beck Needs To Be Brought Down!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=385x367169

Hi Douglas, I hope this gets more traction now...

:kick:

[Douglas Carpenter]

8. indeed at the time relatively few people noticed

[groosemoose]

9. Talk Radio

My conservative relatives love this guy. Then again, they're covered by medicare due to age, and they're near retirement and steadily employed-- so they've got theirs, screw the rest of us. They're free to listen to talk radio at full blast 24/7 now. Glenn Beck's just one part of a very malevolent subculture.