Fantastic! Great! Soon the TV world will get to know Glenn
Beck the way we do. Did you hear the news? Of course you did!
Glenn and crew will be appearing on CNN’s Headline News starting
in April, five nights a week. Wow! Having been on local TV for
more than 30 years myself I’m excited for Glenn. This medium is
able to do things that radio cannot. Pictures tell stories that
can be failed by words alone. Add sound and creativity and you
have the makings for a revolution of the mind, and knowing
Glenn, the soul. Glenn’s hit the big time tied to a monster
network, CNN, desperately trying to find the next wave in news
entertainment. The millions of people who listen to him on a
daily basis will bring the numbers only talent can deliver to
Headline News.
All this fame for a guy who used to make fun of my hair plugs
on his Tampa radio program. That’s how we met and have been
friends ever since.
But, my friend Glenn, we who love you and what you do.. are
going to be watching carefully. Fame, and the money that comes
with it, has a way of changing people. Suddenly you don’t have
to make the tuff decisions facing many “Real Americans” ever day
such as: delaying a dental or medical procedure because you
don’t have the cash on hand; living with 15 year old carpet just
one more year hoping no more unexpected events like a burst
water heater, or a leaking roof spoil your budget; standing in
line at a grocery store hoping you’ve brought enough coupons and
scraped enough pennies together from behind the car seat to
avoid the embarrassment of coming up short at the cash register.
These are the images that describe the real economic issues many
of your listeners face. Those struggles, believe it or not, keep
us grounded in what its important in life. No, the middle class
is not seeking sympathy or whining away their lives. They enjoy
and thank God for whatever blessings OR struggles come their
way. Don’t forget them when your daily limo whisks you to work
or private jet propels you to your next gig!
Next, we pray you do have the freedom to do whatever you know
is right. It sounds good on paper, but how will it translate on
air. Ratings are King and Queen and all the Jack’s, ten’s, and
two’s combined, even more so in TV than in radio. CNN is betting
your daily radio audience will follow. I hope they do. And I
hope the mother ship gives you time to build a following before
they jerk the chain as all management eventually does. You won’t
make the same mistakes as Rush and a host of other radio guys
who’ve tried to make the transition. Your tour shows are a
superb combination of visual and mental imagery tied to the
arteries of your heart-song. Give us that kind of message
nightly and even the producers of “24” will be shaking in their
boots.
And please, please stay away from sexual innuendo. We can’t
stand it when truly conservative thinkers abandon their moral
imperatives for a cheap joke that appeals to the animal
instincts we’ve attempted to control by making the right
choices. We like standing on the higher ground!
Oh yes. Make as laugh along the way; at ourselves, at our
habits, our problems, our attempts at solving the sometimes
unsolvable. We all need to lighten up. Your gang does it better
than anyone else. Don’t let us down.
Here’s another word of advice from “us”. Don’t spread
yourself so thin there’s nothing left for us. You are doing no
favor to any of us if you don’t have time to think, or see your
family. You’re going to keep doing both your radio show and TV
show with the same energy and commitment? Right! If your head is
spinning around at 500-million miles an hour how are you going
to hear that “still, small voice” that only visits us in the
quiet time?
And finally, my sick freak friend, may your gift of humility
never be in short supply. It sets you apart from all the other
BIG names. In your weakness you seem to be more like us. For the
first time in years, maybe ever, you will be exposing the rest
of the nation to the “Real America”. You will be popping up in
the middle of a news organization that hasn’t always done that.
We trust you with “us”! Keep your finger on our pulse, not for
convenience or ratings or material success, but because its our
life, our stories, our prayers and even our failures that have
made what you are.
Do well, oh trusted friend. You and your crew are more than up
to the task. Take note though: we will be watching you and
holding “you” accountable to yourself!
