His outspoken remarks have even seen him booted from shows. But Beck has still managed to find his right-wing niche, starting new platform Blaze Media in 2018 to disseminate his controversial ideas, as well as those of other high-profile conservative commentators.
Here’s what you need to know about the radio and TV presenter who America has a love-hate relationship with.
Glenn Beck’s TV career
Back in 2006, Beck hosted a show on CNN that was billed an “unconventional look at the news of the day”. The host moved to conservative news channel Fox News in 2009, starting his prime time show on the day before Obama took office as president of the US. Beck made his opposition to Obama much of the focus of his show, with The Washington Post explaining that his strong criticism saw ratings soar.But in 2011, he left the network after ratings started to decline and advertisers left, refusing to be associated with the show, per NPR.
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What is Glenn Beck’s connection to Donald Trump?
In 2016, Beck said “opposing Donald Trump is the moral and ethical” choice, even if it meant Hillary Clinton won the election, reported The New York Times. Clinton and Trump went head-to-head in the 2016 US presidential elections, with Trump becoming the 45th president.But, over the years, Beck has flip-flopped in his support of Trump with the presenter telling Tucker Carlson on Fox News in early 2023 that Trump had “taken arrow after arrow” and that “he is the symbol of the average, everyday guy that keeps getting screwed every single time”.
Trump also makes time to speak with Beck and controversially told the presenter that he would “prosecute political enemies if elected president again” during an interview in August last year.
What is Glenn Beck’s platform, Blaze Media?
After leaving Fox, Beck and Mark Levin created Blaze Media, a digital platform that hosts radio, TV and written content. Its well known conservative contributors include Levin, Steve Deace, Jase Robertson, Jason Whitlock and Lauren Chen. Blaze Media states its aim is to be “unapologetically American and pro-free speech”.
It adds, “We are committed to America’s founding principles and rebuilding America’s cultural, political, civic and journalistic institutions on the foundation of bold discourse, big ideas and free expression.”
The platform also implemented a digital subscriptions model, telling readers it wouldn’t allow “big tech” to control how the website operated.
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Glenn Beck’s fallout with Apple
In August 2023, Beck made waves after he said on X, formerly Twitter, that his podcasts had been removed from Apple Podcasts without an explanation.
However, Variety reported that Apple stated the episodes had been removed because of a “trademark dispute” that was later resolved. The podcasts were later re-added to the platform.
Beck updated his followers with the news, but claimed he received no clear answer regarding why they had been removed. The drama resulted in speculation that Beck was being “censored”, which increased the presenter’s fans’ positive sentiments around him.
Glenn Beck’s multimillion-dollar fortune
In 2014, Beck had an estimated net worth of US$90 million, per Forbes. Since the founding of Blaze Media and his podcasts, his estimated net worth has climbed to around US$200 million, reports Celebrity Net Worth.
Besides the revenue from his digital platform, Beck is a well-known public speaker, often hired to MC events or attend conservative rallies as a guest speaker.
His fee for speaking at events ranges between US$50,000 and US$100,000, according to AAE Speakers. He also sells merchandise featuring Trump and himself online.
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