NOPE, NO PERSECUTION HERE

I think it's a shame that FOX "News" has not been losing many viewers, but apparently a certain FOX pundit has.

http://blog.seattlepi.com/seattlepolitics/archives/237958.asp?source=mypi

Of course Glenn Beck has his angry supporters who basically claim he is unfairly picked on in the media, etc.

But Glenn Beck is no victim of persecution here. Facts about ratings are simply being presented.

Beck is just being pointed out more than the others in this article because his show has had the highest ratings and he is the most sensational of all these TV political pundits. If the others were as interesting as Beck, if they had as many bestselling books out as he does, and if they were actually in the public eye as much as he is? They would have received more prominent mention in the article. Beck is a bona fide celebrity; the others are all second-tier when it comes to star power.

I do not make this observation in support of Glenn Beck. Personally, I can't stand looking at him, let alone listening to him. I just fail to see how one could argue that anyone like Olbermann or Cooper is more popular than Beck (even in the media), or that Beck is a victim. If anything, add Beck's prominence to the fact that he is a fascinating personality and it is going to draw lots more attention to him than to the others. And all that extra attention he seeks and gets through his endless self-promotion is going to put him under the microscope more than it will the others.

The mainstream media may be critical of Beck. Or maybe to those who are being sensitive about it, it may seem like the mainstream media treats him unfairly. But think about it... when Glenn Beck makes a comment that may seem outlandish to most people, the media does him huge favors and lends credence to what he says simply by acknowledging what he says and prominently featuring it in the news. He often not only has FOX News working for him, but the mainstream media as well.

If we really had a "liberal media", they would just ignore Beck or we would see more things critical of him. Instead, we have a corporate media that pushes whatever "news" it thinks will sell... because they are all about their bottom line. The more sensational the news, the more it is likely to sell. Beck is a lightning rod in our political world. Because he energizes some sections of our society the way he does, you can bet he will be in the news, and what we hear about him in the news will not always be pretty.

He is not being persecuted. The things we hear and read about him are not much more than the trappings that go along with his being a celebrity.