Beck's shows have been described as a "mix of moral lessons, outrage and an apocalyptic view of the future ... capturing the feelings of an alienated class of Americans." Beck has referred to himself as an entertainer, Beck's style of expressing his candid opinions have helped make his shows successful, but have also resulted in protest and advertiser boycotts. In late July 2009, Beck argued that
reparations and
social justice were driving President Obama's agenda, discussing issues of
diversity and
institutional racism. That week in response to the
Henry Gates controversy, Beck stated that Obama has repeatedly exposed himself as having, "a deep-seated hatred for white people, or the white culture." He concluded that, "I'm not saying he doesn't like white people. I'm saying he has a problem. This guy is, I believe, a racist." These remarks drew criticism from
MSNBC commentators, the
NAACP, and resulted in as many as 80 advertisers boycotting both Beck's show and FNC. Beck later mentioned that he regretted calling Barack Obama a racist, saying that, "I have a big fat mouth sometimes".
Time describes Beck as "the new populist superstar of Fox News" saying it is easier to see a set of attitudes rather than a specific ideology, noting his
criticism of Wall Street, yet defending bonuses to AIG and denouncing conspiracies against FEMA but warning against indoctrination of children by the
AmeriCorps program.
Time concludes that "what unites Beck's disparate themes is a sense of siege" but notes that Beck describes his
Glenn Beck Radio Program as "the fusion of entertainment and enlightenment." According to
Nielsen ratings, Beck had one of the highest rated 5PM cable news shows as of March 2009, consistently beating his competition's combined total viewership. Beck was up 96% in 2009, from Fox's previous year 5 p.m. time slot. However, the show's ratings for the month of January 2011 were 39% lower than their January 2010 number, representing the steepest decline of any cable news show. A significant factor in Beck's overall ratings drop is his viewership among the prized 25- to 54-year-old advertising demographic, which declined by almost one-half in 2010.
Boycotts After Beck accused President Obama of being a racist,
Color of Change, an online civil rights advocacy group, urged advertisers to boycott Beck's program. As of September 21, 2010, a total of 296 advertisers had asked that their commercials not be shown on Fox News during Beck's programming including
Wal-Mart,
CVS Caremark,
Best Buy,
Ally Financial,
Travelocity,
LexisNexis-owned
Lawyers.com,
Procter & Gamble,
Verizon Wireless,
HSBC,
Progressive Corporation and
GEICO. Fox News has also had a difficult time selling commercials on ''
The O'Reilly Factor and Fox and Friends'' when Beck appears as a guest on those shows as well as other Fox News shows. In the TV sales world Beck's show has become known as "empty calories," meaning that he draws great ratings, but he's toxic for ad sales.
UPS Stores has decided to temporarily stop advertising on Fox News as a whole. Beck said that he was unapologetic for the remark and stated that the President is not above criticism.
In pop culture In the
South Park episode "
Dances with Smurfs,"
Eric Cartman parodies Beck multiple times, particularly when Cartman repeatedly says, "I'm just asking questions," a Glenn Beck catchphrase. His show's intro and set are similar to Beck's. On the November 16 show, Beck acknowledged the parody, noting the use of chalkboards, crying on TV and questioning the President, saying, "You haven't lived until
South Park has done an entire episode on you." ==TheBlaze era==