UPDATED: As boycott continues, Glenn Beck's audience swells

An advertising boycott against Fox News host Glenn Beck has succeeded in keeping most major sponsors from running commercials on his show even as the controversial commentator's viewership has grown.

Beck attracted 2.81 million viewers Monday, his third-largest audience since his show launched on Fox News in January, according to Nielsen Media Research data provided by the network. On Tuesday, nearly 2.7 million viewers tuned in, his fifth-largest viewership to date. And the conservative host got a plug from former vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, who urged people to watch his program in a post on her Facebook page.

“FOX News' Glenn Beck is doing an extraordinary job this week walking America behind the scenes of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and outlining who is actually running the White House,” she wrote Wednesday to her 800,000-plus supporters.

Color of Change, an African American political advocacy group, organized the boycott last month to protest Beck’s comment that he believes President Obama is a racist. The group succeeded in securing commitments from at least 36 companies that have pledged not to advertise on his show, including Wal-Mart and Sprint. Some, such as AT&T and Procter & Gamble, were not Beck advertisers to begin with, but their ads had mistakenly appeared on the program. Representatives from those companies reiterated their request not to have spots during his show. Later today, Color of Change plans to announce six more companies that also are declining to be Beck advertisers.

As a result, few major businesses remain as sponsors of Beck’s eponymous 2 p.m. PDT program. On Wednesday, the only big companies with a presence during his show were Bank of America and the Wall Street Journal, whose parent company News Corp. also owns Fox News. The rest of the commercials included spots for gold seller Rosland Capital; Ashley Furniture Home Store; Empire Carpet; Liberty Medical, a diabetes medical supplier; Johnson Law Group, an asbestos litigation firm; “Shadow Government,” a new book critical of Obama published by the National Republican Trust; and the anti-tax group TeaPartyExpress.org.

Fox News insists that the boycott has not affected its revenue, because advertisers have just moved their commercials to different time periods. And for his part, Beck appears invigorated by the challenge. “Even if the powers to be right now succeed in making me poor, drum me out … I will only be stronger for it,” he said on the air Wednesday. “And I will use American ingenuity and my ingenuity to pull myself up, and I will find another way to get this message out, on a platform that will be a thousand times more powerful. Because of my faith, I know how this story ends. The truth will set you free.”

Since returning from a weeklong vacation Monday, Beck has not explicitly addressed the boycott. Instead, he has launched a weeklong series called “Reasonable Questions for an Unreasonable Time,” in which he has argued vehemently that the Obama administration is being infiltrated by radicals seeking to undermine the U.S. Constitution.

“I have demonstrated that these radicals are not only instrumental in shaping legislation that is being jammed through at light speed, they are also by invitation personally advising the president of the United States,” he said Wednesday, calling them “radical wolves that are about to devour our republic.”

One of his most frequent targets is Van Jones, special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.  In 2005, Jones co-founded Color of Change with James Rucker, the group’s executive director. Beck supporters have charged that Color of Change launched the boycott of Beck's show in retaliation for the host's criticism of Jones.

Rucker said Jones has not been associated with the group for more than a year and had nothing to do with the boycott. "I didn’t even know Van had been a subject of Glenn Beck’s sustained attacks until after we had launched the campaign," he said. "I can say absolutely there was no involvement by Van or the White House. Beck has made these claims that are not fact-based and he needs to change the subject, and that’s what this is all about."

Beck began railing against Jones earlier this summer, dubbing him one of 32 “czars” with unchecked power in the Obama administration. He has repeatedly called him a communist, citing a 2005 profile of Jones in the East Bay Express that described Jones’ shift from a radical-activist past to more mainstream politics. On Wednesday, he made reference to the fact that Jones named his son after African guerrilla leader Amilcar Cabral.

“Should you have a communist, self-avowed revolutionary who named his 4-year-old son after a Marxist guerrilla leader, should that person be advising the president of the United States?” he asked.

Jones did not immediately respond to a request for comment made through the White House. Earlier in the week, White House spokeswoman Christine Glunz said in a statement that Jones has been lauded as an environmental hero and that his entire focus at the Council on Environmental Quality is on “building clean-energy incentives which create 21st century jobs.”

[Updated at 1:33 p.m.: According to Color of Change, 10 more companies that have recently had ads air during Beck's program have pledged not to run any further advertising on his show. The latest businesses to distance themselves from the Fox News host include Applebee's, Bank of America, Bell & Howell, DirecTV, General Mills, Kraft, Regions Financial Corp., SAM (Store and Move), Travelers Insurance and Vonage.

Bank of America, which had a spot on Beck's program Wednesday, pointed the group to a statement it gave Media Matters for America stating that its advertising had been placed on the program in error. Travelers Insurance, Bell & Howell, General Mills and DirectTV also told Color of Change that they had already placed Beck's program on their "do not air" lists and any commercials that appeared during his show were in error. Applebee's told the group that it was now dropping Beck's program, and Kraft said it had decided to stop advertising "on the more politically extreme programs on all networks."]

[Updated at 2:15 p.m .: According to a Fox News spokeswoman, the network has not run Bank of America ads during Beck's show, so any spot for the bank that aired during his program would have been a local cable purchase. In addition, the network said that Bell & Howell and SAM (Store and Move) were never Fox News advertisers.]

[Updated at 3 p.m.: SAM (Store and Move) is indeed a Fox News advertiser, a network spokeswoman clarifies. The company buys ads under the name Unigroup.]

[Updated at 4:43 p.m.: Beck posted his second-highest viewership ever Wednesday, attracting more than 3 million viewers for the hour.]

[Updated at 8:07 a.m., Aug. 28: Ashley Furniture HomeStore pulled its advertising from "Glenn Beck" as of Thursday, said Kendra Maggert, a spokeswoman for the company.]

-- Matea Gold

RELATED:

Glenn Beck goes after Color of Change co-founder Van Jones

Comments

[justiceforall]

There are a lot of Beck supporters out there. IQ's are a tad low for these people but all of us have a right to choose what we want to support.

[tiredofit]

Seems silly for businesses to throw away so much money. They would reach more people advertising on 1 show (Beck's) 1 time than if they pay all three MSNBC, CNN and ABC to advertise once. Those do not seem to be well spent advertising dollars. Face it, more people hate MSNBC, CNN and ABC than hate FOX. MSNBC,CNN and ABC lost a lot of viewers because of stupid comments like Chris Matthews "I get tingles up my leg when I hear Obama speak". GAG I want to hear both sides of the story without some idiot thinking that if he screams the loudest (Olberman) people will think he is right or telling the truth. Pi-ti-full.

[Taryn]

I love how I'm called "crazy" and "idiotic" for not wanting to give up any more of my money.

Go go Colorofchange.org! That's a long list of companies that have lost my patronage.

[Enzo]

As you can see by Beck's impressive ratings, we're a substantial part of the American population launching a counter-boycott to reduce MSNBC, NBC, and GE to dust. And we'll include ANY company that doesn't protect our precious right of dissent. We need Beck's voice for our opposition to a bunch of lunatics who took over the White House. I was a registered democrat who voted for Clinton twice, Gore, and Kerry. Not anymore, as I've seen the light. Do any of you liberals feel surprised that most of durable goods growth this year came from the Defense sector? Has it anything to do with the fact that your hero Obama picked the former a former Raytheon lobbyist to help running the Pentagon? Yeah, you keep that head in the sand, Bill Maher puppets.

[Brad]

Dear Kiki, The reasn the White House does not refute Beck's claims is because they are true!!

[ZEE]

The only people that have a problem with Beck is those who are closed minded liberals. It's funny that liberals don't like him, yet they flock to his website and comment on posts. If you don't like him, then don't watch him or read about him because you are apparently too stupid to see what's happening before you eyes. If you think Beck is that unimportant then why does he matter enough to you to comment? Beck scares people like you because he's figured out this administration's agenda. And what will you do in return....you try to apply the old Alinsky's radical rules. I shudder to think what kind of people raise you because it would have to be parents like Bill Ayers. Face it...if Beck didn't scare you, he wouldn't matter enough to you to bother with, wouldn't you think? So liberals, just sit back and collect your welfare and don't pay your taxes while we true Americans stand up and take our country back.

[troy]

I love this. I reaaaly love this. Glenn Beck is the best thing that can happen to Democrats and Independents, because it's people like Glenn Beck who actually help President Obama. The vast majority of Americans are tired of loud mouths like Glenn Beck and Jesse Jackson. These Americans, of all races, are smart enough to know showmanship and ignorance versus compassionate effort. Normal people don't like conflict. They just want positive things for themselves and their families. Come re-election time, those Americans will remember the ill will and hate espoused by Beck, Palin, Hannity and Rush, and they'll see a positive sounding president speaking intelligently and rationally. What propelled Obama into the White House in 2008 is what will keep him there until 2016. Hate and conflict are like the hot chicks you meet in bars...they may serve an immediate purpose, but long term, you want tranquility and stability.

Obama in '12. Thanks, Beck.

[SSINAZ]

Beck may not always be nice but he gets the message out there. For our kids we need to ensure that liberties are preserved and our fundamental rights are NOT taken away by some form of defunct government.

[Steve Tobias]

I think I will be boycotting the companies that are boycotting Glenn Beck.He is the only commentator who will tell you to research and check everything he tells you.

[Gary]

It's a free country. Boycott him or listen to him, both are acceptable the last time I checked.

Since these comments are full of wild statements, how about just one fact check? Has Van Jones made any statements or writings recently that sheds light on whether he is in fact a communist or socialist? Post the statement or link to it, please.

[mary]

Thank you, "no sanctuary" for your comment about the extension of health care benefits to illegal immigrants...the president, and the parroting news media all so sarcastically put down citizens who say that millions of illegals will receive health care at taxpayers' expense....I have NEVER seen it reported on the mainstream media that, in fact, illegals WILL be covered because there is nothing in the bill that requires documentation for coverage and, as you rightly reported, an amendment to exempt illegals was voted down along party lines, and court decisions have already set the precedent for thus allowing coverage, if not specifically denied in the bill! Have any of you ever seen this reported in the media? No, and how many times has our president stood right there in front of his fellow citizens and told only a "half truth" - that, and so many other elements of this government with its dozens of czars and its changing of the rules and establishment of new agencies and all the controls that accompany all the "change" we see in this hanging-on-to-freedom-by-a-red-and-white-stripe-on-a-flag America is why this country needs Glenn Beck!

[InformedONE]

Beck is a pathetic man, and his real objectve is not with truth telling but with self promotion. He is an uneducated, ex-disc jockey who went from playing fart sounds and ringing cow bells on a morning music show to a political "commentator" I know that the commie/facist/socialist fearing tin foil hat clubers, that like him, will never change because he spews the hate that they want to hear. He plays them for the useful idiots that they are buying his books and going to his comedy shows. He makes a fortune off of these people, and knows how to keep that goose "laying the golden eggs" alive and well.

Why does he have Tort law firms advertise on his show when he despises them? Why does he have firms that prepares living wills advertise with him when he associates living wills with death panels? The answer is money!!

Lastly, what do you call a show host with great ratings and no advertisers? A Loser!

[Rocco]

Glenn Back is one of the only true sources of political information left. There are lots of comments by what I can only guess are left wing nut jobs claiming a low IQ of his viewers.

If they can't see the lies, manipulations, and communist/socialist ways of the current administration, they are the ones with small IQs.

[Moon54]

How many self avowed communists in the Obama administration does it take before you people start asking the questions that Glenn Beck is asking? He say's he doesn't have the answers if you watch his show. He is just asking the questions. Now here is your chance to start answering the questions he asks. When you have all the answers, post them out on the internet. I'm sure his ratings will go down then. Here is the question he presented tonight. Why does Obama need a civilian national security force just as powerful as the military? Or in Obama's own words. "We cannot continue to rely on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives we've set. We've got to have a civilian national security force that's just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded". Now my IQ must not be very high because I don't know the answer to this. Let's hear it, so I can understand it.

[John Mitchell]

What? Washington challenge Glenn?? Can't happen when they can't challenge the truth! Whats funny is that people still belive the Obama machines blatant lies! Open your eyes people!! I once belived Obama till i looked into what Glenn and Rush were saying and found that they spoke the truth. if you want to see the truth read the healthcare bill!

[John q.]

Get him out of the RADIO and TV. This man is irresponsible with him self and family. I am affraid for his children
learning hate from him.

[dennycrane]

The people that watch this are also the ones that rubber neck on the freeway when there is an accident.

[Michael S.]

How sad it is to read all this, don't you see what happened? The President is supposed to bring the country together, he is the President of all the Americans, but he is not doing that, he is dividing us even more. Glenn Beck is the only guy in the media telling the truth, and even if you don't like it, you should listen to him, check the facts and then agree or disagree. But you people are spitting all the nasty stuff here. And if you say that the IQ of the people watching Glenn must be low, then count the President and all the Politicians as dumb, because they are watching him as well. People stop this nastyness, and try to use your brain, bad things are happening in this country, and if we don't stop, its going to be worse.

[King Diamond]

2.8 mil......and thats important why? And why do these morons follow each other so blindly? Betcha the President's skin color has more to do with their misplaced anger than anything else. Not all conservatives are stupid, but most stupid undereducated GEDers are conservative because progress and new colorful objects just scare the bejeebus out of them.

[glad for glenn]

I have read pretty much of the comments. The people who complain about him and call him crazy certainly don't offer any facts that Glenn is wrong. They probably don't even watch him. They just know that he is a Conservative, and they hate Conservatives because they know that the Liberals will give them everything they need, except a job. But who cares. Obama will take care of them. They don't want Obama and his administratin out because that will mean the end of their free rides. If Glenn is so wrong, why is everyone so afraid of him, like trying to remove him and people like him from the air. Because they don't want the truth to be told.