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Baratunde is a politically-active, technology-loving comedian from the future. He co-founded the black political blog, Jack & Jill Politics, served as Director of Digital for The Onion and is a regular guest on Leo Laporte's TWiT. His book, How To Be Black, is a New York Times Best Seller and was published by Harper in February 2012. Basically, he's a smart, funny, extremely handsome dude. >> Full bio.

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Friday
Jul012011

My coverage of Glenn Beck's last Fox show and why it's not a massive victory for the left

I used Storify to capture my tweets and add commentary.

So I'll put the punchline up high:

In conclusion, I don't think Glenn Beck leaving Fox is a massive victory for the left, though pressuring his advertisers to stop backing super ridiculous and damaging hate speech is a victory of sorts.

Like a mutant Japanese monster, though, Beck may simply become stronger. His GBTV positions him as a sort of digital Oprah, with his own virtual network and shows, not all hosted by him.

The clothing is weird, but so is Newman's salad dressing. The inspiration behind it is interesting. Beck has built not just a loyal following but a business empire, freeing him to do even more of what he wants than a cable network might allow.

I don't agree with the man. I've seen him try and partially succeed to destroy the life of a friend. But there are lessons to learn from his strategy. Beck talks up to his audiences. He broke many rules of television, selling complicated ideas in long form. He got people away from their televisions and into the streets, and now he's setting up his own platform with digital and physical monetization which will free him even more to realize his dream.

I only wish his dream were more along the lines of a rocket ship and less about half-plagiarized conspiracy theories seeking to explain why "they" want to take "your America" away.

(to make more sense of this, re-live the coverage below)

 

 

 

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