Boycotting Beck on Fox "News" -- an issue of credibility

[Commentary] Advertisers are dropping Glenn Beck like flies. His show in the UK does not have even one advertiser. Still, thanks to the power of News Corporation, the show goes on.

Beck's cable TV ratings, in the US at least, continue to be healthy. His FOX News viewership of 617,000 (as of Friday Feb 12, according to mediabistro.com,) is second on cable only to Bill O'Reilly's 713,000. While StopBeck and Color of Change tout victories over Beck in TV land, Beck's radio show continues to thrive. Angelo Carusone is trying to boycott companies that advertise on Beck's radio program, which garners 9 million listeners, nearly 15 times his TV audience, but is finding the terrain more difficult. Whereas companies like Best Western and Kraft are sensitive to their logo being visibly associated with Beck on FOX News, "radio sponsors have a right wing agenda going in and don't really care" about a negative association, says Carusone. Color of Change campaign manager Dani McClain says that targeting the show on Fox News is important, precisely because it is Fox "News." "Fox News says they are a news organization. When people tune in, they should have the expectation of getting real news, not misinformation, distortion of truth and race baiting." Executive Director James Rucker adds that this is an issue of credibility. "When you have so many mainstream companies, from AT&T to Walmart, who don't want to be affiliated with Beck, it strips Beck's ability to position himself as mainstream. Could all these companies possibly be in the pocket of the left?"