Glenn Beck’s The Blaze is merging with Mark Levin’s CRTV to form what The Hollywood Reporter has dubbed a “conservative media powerhouse.” I’m not sure whether to laugh or cry.
Although The Daily Beast described the deal as a “bailout” of The Blaze by CRTV, The Hollywood Reporter credulously reported Beck’s grandiose vision of what is to come:
Beck tells The Hollywood Reporter that the move could be just a next step in building a powerhouse, independent media company.
[…]
Blaze Media will be headquartered in Dallas at Beck’s facilities, but he says that’s only a technicality as it will operate all over the country. “Dallas will be the epicenter, but we’ll be like a movie studio, like United Artists. It’s a much better system for the talent.”
[…]
“The merger will help those efforts,” he said. “First and foremost, I’m an artist and a storyteller.”
Actually, first and foremost, Beck is a bull**** artist. As Crooks and Liars pointed out, Beck was totally Never Trump until, in May, he decided to go MAGA and announced he will “gladly” vote for Trump in 2020.
And whatever happened to that rare neurological disease Beck claimed to have been suffering from since about 2009? The one that was supposed to render him unable to function in 5-10 years? Beck announced his condition in 2014, said it had struck him five years before that, and credited his faith in God for reversing its course.
As for that “epicenter” that will be “like a movie studio” in Dallas? Well, maybe not so much. In fact, Levin, who is also a current Fox News host, made a point of letting folks know that the epicenter will not be in Dallas.
... The decision for the merger was made by the principals of CRTV and TheBlaze. Also, the headquarters will not be in Dallas, TX
— Mark R. Levin (@marklevinshow) December 3, 2018
Unlike The Hollywood Reporter, The Daily Beast's Lloyd Grove did some real digging into the situation. Grove noted that Beck’s former media empire, which he built after leaving Fox News (and which was supposed to produce "a variety" of television and digital projects for Fox News), has been “recently afflicted by plunging revenue, online traffic and paid subscribers along with mass layoffs.” Grove further wrote:
Although the newly formed company is being called Blaze Media, Beck is “basically turning over to control to CRTV and his empire is basically ending with a whimper,” said a former associate of the man who, at the height of his success a decade ago, likened himself to “a rodeo clown.”
Besides annoying Levin right off the bat, there seems to have been more trouble in paradise before the new venture has begun. Michelle Malkin announced her departure from CRTV the day after The Hollywood Reporter story. However, it’s not clear whether it was Beck that drove out Malkin or the hiring of Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes or, possibly, some other reason.
So yeah, what could go wrong with this “powerhouse?”
Beck image via screen grab
So the logical solution is for a right-wing demagogue like Levin to merge with another one like Beck? This is the perfect definition of “psychological projection”.
“Proud Boys”? “Duck Dynasty”? Eric Bolling? And at this point, other haters like Malkin are already jumping ship? What do they plan to fill the empty slots with? “The Ted Nugent Show”?
It’s partly correct to see this as the sad end of Glenn Beck’s ego trip. But it’s also an attempt by Mark Levin to create his own online footprint to compete with the expansion of Fox News and with other trolls like Newsmax. If I’m understanding the situation correctly, Beck will now essentially be reporting to Levin and the guys at CRTV.
My next question is how long it will be before Beck’s ego pushes him to back out of this idea and make another one of his doom-laden announcements?