Glenn Beck launches news and opinion site

The political commentator creates The Blaze to put conservative edge on stories

Thought you’d heard the last of Glenn Beck?  Think again (foolish mortal).  The controversial conservative commentator now has his own news and opinion Web site, and if it’s anything like his other endeavors, it’s going to be outrageous!

The Blaze, launched Monday night, features stories, a blog, and a breaking news section called the Wire.  Managing Editor of the site is veteran journalist Scott Baker, co-founder of Breitbart.tv, a conservative news and opinion site that could be seen as a forerunner to The Blaze, and producer of the B-Cast, a long-form news/talk Webcast.  Baker has his roots in politics, having worked full-time on the Reagan-Bush ’84 campaign in addition to winning the Veterans of Foreign Wars’ Voice of Democracy audio-essay contest as a senior in high school, which places him in the company of past winners, including former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

In an interview with Mediaite, Baker noted that there “seemed to be a lot of synergy” between his work with the B-Cast and Beck’s vision. “Also, Glenn is a broadcaster and my background for 20 years was in broadcasting.  There’s a shared sensibility from that end.”

The Blaze is already flourishing with Beck’s own brand of news reporting.  The site’s top headline reads: “Explicit Poetry GPS Phones Help Illegals.”  Other stories include: “Glenn’s Disgrace? Shocking Racism at Al Shaprton’s MLK Anniversary,” “The Ballooning Welfare State,” and “Review Finds Flaw in U.N. Climate Change Group.”  No liberal stone is being left unturned. 

The site is being compared to liberal news and opinion Web site The Huffington Post, started by columnist Arianna Huffington in 2005.  In an inaugural message from Beck on the Web site, he explains his reasons for starting The Blaze. 

“Watching the news or reading the paper can be an exercise in exasperation…Too many important stories are overlooked. And too many times we see mainstream media outlets distorting facts to fit rigid agendas…We want this to be a place where you can find breaking news, original reporting, insightful opinions and engaging videos about the stories that matter most.”

With a popular talk-radio show, a thriving TV show on Fox News, and several books under his belt, The Blaze is only the latest Beck endeavor.  Never a stranger to controversy, Beck has a long history of inciting fierce public debate over issues ranging from politics and American culture to race, religion, and the environment.  Shortly before the Web site’s debut, Beck came under fire for his “Restoring Honor” rally on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.  The rally was criticized by several civil rights leaders, notably Al Sharpton, for attempting to mirror the 1963 March on Washington, during which Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his history-making “I Have a Dream” speech.

While Beck is notoriously eager to stir up debate, which The Blaze promises to do with its controversial headlines, the world remains perched at the edge of its seat to see what new medium he’s going to conquer and subsume next. 

Having tackled radio, TV, book publishing, live events, and now the digital world, the only thing left for Beck to do to make sure you've heard him is to start carpooling with you to work.

Image source: nydailynews.com