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

Glenn Beck used his popular Fox News show this afternoon to attack the background of Van Jones, a White House environmental advisor who co-founded an African American political advocacy group that organized an advertising boycott of his program.

During his 2 p.m. PDT show, Beck did not address the boycott spearheaded by Color of Change to protest the talk show host’s remark last month that he believes President Obama is “a racist.” 

Instead, he spent a large share of his program suggesting that Jones, who co-founded Color of Change in 2005, is a radical. Jones now serves as a special advisor for Green Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation at the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

During a six-minute biographical profile, set to ominous music, Beck said Jones was twice arrested for political protests and has described himself as a "rowdy black nationalist." The talk show host cast the piece as part of a broader examination of Obama's "czars," special advisers to the president who "don't answer to anybody."

"Why is it that such a committed revolutionary has made it so high into the Obama administration as one of his chief advisers?" Beck asked.

Christine Glunz, a spokeswoman for the White House Council on Environmental Quality, noted that Jones has been lauded as an environmental hero and said his entire focus is on “building clean energy incentives which create 21st-century jobs.”

“Glenn Beck is trying to change the subject,” said James Rucker, executive director of Color of Change, who noted that Jones has not been active with the group in almost two years. “The issue is his baseless fear mongering.”

Beck has gone after Jones in the past. On July 28, he called the activist a "self-professed communist" and questioned the role he was playing in the administration. His latest assault on Jones came as Color of Change announced that it has secured commitments from 36 companies who have pledged not to advertise on Beck’s popular program, including Wal-Mart and Sprint. However, some of the companies never had a presence on "Glenn Beck." Representatives of Procter & Gamble and AT&T – listed by Color of Change as companies that had signed onto the boycott – told The Times that their companies did not run spots on Beck’s program to begin with.

While the advertising boycott has generated substantial media coverage, Fox News said it has not impacted the network’s revenues or Beck’s audience. "The advertisers referenced have all moved their spots from Beck to other programs on the network so there has been no revenue lost," a spokeswoman said.

Since his Fox News show launched in January, Beck has attracted a sizable audience with his strident denunciations of the Obama administration and apocalyptic warnings about the country’s direction. Late last month, during an appearance on the morning show “Fox & Friends,” he accused Obama of having “a deep-seated hatred for white people or the white culture.”

“This guy is, I believe, a racist,” he added.

The flap that ensued did not appear to dampen Beck’s viewership. This month, his show has averaged 2.25 million viewers, 99% more than tuned in during the same period last year, when the network aired “America’s Election HQ” during the time period. And his ratings are up from July, when Beck's program averaged 2.05 million viewers. Fan websites such as Defend Glenn have called for viewers to fight back against the advertising boycott, and some media veterans have denounced the tactic as a suppression of free speech.

The controversy has triggered a broader discussion about the risks to advertisers of running commercials amid the incendiary rhetoric of cable talk shows. Clorox announced last week that it was pulling its ads off all political talk shows.

"We do not want to be associated with inflammatory speech used by either liberal or conservative talk show host,” the company said in a statement. “After a comprehensive review of political talks shows across the spectrum, at this time we have made a decision not to advertise on them. Clorox has done very little advertising on political talk shows overall, and given the sometimes inflammatory nature of these shows, we feel our advertising investment is best directed elsewhere.”

-- Matea Gold

File photo of Glenn Beck by Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times

RELATED:

As boycott continues, Glenn Beck's audience swells

Comments

[swf]

There are no fact checkers at Fox Entertainment. Nor is there any acceptance of responsibility for inflammatory, and perhaps dangerous, retoric. Theirs is a premeditated assault on the gullible and when we see consequences, which we will, there will be a lot of hiding behind the Second Amendment..as if they were a real news organization.

[John Galt]

The real news here is that the leftists at the LA Times are watching the Glenn Beck show and are writing about it in nearly real time. Good. You commies won't learn anything but at least you know we're watching you.

[robert c. thomas]

You can silence , at least for a few days, by giving Obama a new first name.

His real and well earned first name is usufruct . He does intend to grab and use
property or goods of others . He has also the classical tendency used by
magalomaniacs of the past. He or his subalterns demonize those who disagree
with him by using some popular jingoism. Racism would be a good word to use.
Of course you are and he cannot be because he is protected by the Diversity
God. Even though his health care program is to be funded by a tax that is
at least 96% levied on whites and asians, i.e. those who earn more than $200
m a year. He and Jeremiah Wright definitely sang and still sing in the same
choir.

[PatNYC]

The president has forgotten that he was elected to represent all Americans. Since he took office he abandoned his moderate campaign promises and his actions have been to reward progressive liberals and unions for their contributions to his election. When an uninformed president acts stupidly by commenting on a situation that he knows little of (status quo for him), his racism was fully demonstrated. Under these conditions it was not improper for Glenn Beck to say what many were also saying and thinking; we have a racist in chief in the WH.

[Alex C.]

I'm surprised that Glenn Beck's supporters poses the skills to a) read, b) type, and c) manage to make their way to the comments section of what I'm sure they consider a "liberal rag-tag."

Don't censor the man because he's speaking freely—albeit a load of nonsense. Just stop giving idiots a national platform to espouse their dimwitted and unsubstantiated rhetoric to other idiots.

If anything, Glenn Beck and his profit-generating diatribes prove that corporate media outfits have failed us as denizens of the fourth estate, placing profits before substance. And in this, all major outlets are guilty.

[bobm]

Dumb...(Beck) and Dumber...(Beck)...In each generation there is one fool who thinks he speaks the truth...anyone who believes this guy is ill informed or just drinking the kool aid...

[Tim]

Van Jones cannot be called a racist for standing up for his beliefs during a time when African Americans were attacked by police dogs and fire hosed for attempting to eat at the same counter top as their white American counter parts.

Thomas Madigan, to answer your question it is more common to see articles about white on black racism because of the Racial history of America. For over 400 years the color of your skin decided if you were give full rights or treated as a sub human second class citizen LITERALLY. National Amendments stated blacks were 3/5 human. It is only in the past 40 years that these ideas have started to be challenged nationally in the media.

[Steve]

The "state run media" at it still. I like the way the story changed, from the headline, you'd think the Times would of investigated what Beck said. Instead, they "report" about the "community activist organizations" claim that Beck is a racist.
A word of advice for the Times, the race card is just not as powerful a weapon as it used tobe. I think it's because of the double standard in the way it's used. Only white people can be racist & if you question anything about buckwheat obama's sham presidency, your a racist.
If you can't question anything or else become a racist is a pretty sad state of affairs. This president SHOULD BE QUESTIONED!!
I have questions, first of all, under what authority is he trying to socialize 1/5 of our economy. I'd like to know, who are these "csars", what are their backgrounds, have the FBI background checks been done or done away with?
How many of these radical socialist/marxists like van jones is there advising obama? It used to be you were known & associated with the people you run around with or are advised by.
But now, these questions are off limits or your a racist. Obama is fullfilling 1 campaign pledge for sure, he said he was going to fundamentally change this country. Did all you obama voters have any idea he meant he was going to circumvent the Constitution (who am I kidding, he's just plain ignoring it) & change America into a marxist society with a central planned economy?
How's that "hope & change" crap working for you?

[Juda blum]

Those advertiser who fall out advertising on Glenn Beck show should be listed in the paper or any media so people will decide if they want to boycott them or not.
Free speech for a free country.

[Will]

To Thomas Madigan,

Because there is not a multi-century history of blacks enslaving whites. History: ever heard of it?

To the rest of the unwashed masses defending Glenn Beck's idiocracy,

You will reap the government and culture you sow. Prepare to reap the whirlwind.

[williambanzai7]

Glenn has my vote for douche bag of the year.

[TED]

Wendy,

For the love of God, please stop using the term Marxist and Communist. If you plan to continue using the term, at least attempt to educate yourself as to its meaning.

[Wade]

The First Amendment protects the right of Mr. Beck to call the President a racist despite having no evidence to back up his claims. And the many supportive comments here demostrate just how tacky, tasteless and clueless conservatives really are.

[Robski]

It is un-American to call the President of the United States of America a racist when those accusing him of it are racists themselves (Faux News hate machine).

[Nancy Yoder]

Thank God that Glenn Beck is out there speaking for millions of Americans at the injustices being done to our constitution. I am sure that Color of Change will focus on the Van Jones segment as being racist! It is fact not racism! Everything that Glenn is putting forth to the American people this week is fact not fiction. We had all better wake up before this whole administration has accomplished their target of a Socialistic government or worse!

[Barbara T]

The MSNBC news comment about the president staying with the all"black Elite" angers me. Would you have said the president is staying in a all white place for a white president? I do not know of any place that says whites only nowadays, but Black only is so predominent, one begins to wonder who is the racist here? Do you know of a "white College" that advertises white only? How about Black television(BET) Is there a white entertainment station? I thought not. Yes!,racisum is alive and well with the black community, and it is a black community, not African American. They are blacks with African Heritage, go to Africa if you want to be other than a American. Thank you Mr Beck for being a person who still utilizes the freedom of speech. You should not be punished for this.

[nobuski]

People who are obsessed with race are the real racist.
Henry Lewis Gates Jr. is a perfect example.

[Jeff]

It is very interesting. We have popular companies not advertising during a show and market share goes up. This gives me the feeling that no one liked the advertisements and liked the content of the program.

Maybe Mr. Beck is not just saying things for shock value, but has some real points and evidence to prove his assertions.

As unpopular as the assertion is: it is not just white people that are racists.

[Jared]

It is poor judgment on the part of this mediocre rag to assume that the readership is not familiar with the events of the day as they have truly occurred. Reporting an event requires taking note of chronology. In fact, Glenn Beck has been beating the drum against Van Jones for over a month now. To distort the facts of who is retaliating against whom, is to reveal bias. Once that bias has been revealed, the entire article along with the reporter of the news must be rejected or properly labeled as strictly editorial.

[Brandon]

From the ColorOfChange website: "we will do all we can to make sure all Americans are represented, served, and protected—regardless of race or class." -- OK, Color of Change, so when do we get to hear about the race baiting going on at MSNBC and your campaign to have advertisers pull from the Chris Matthews show. He spends his time looking at voter maps and then says that those areas of the country that didn't vote for Obama are racist. Typical liberal Bull Sh..
You liberals really are like the Natzis.

Beck - Never give up! You cannot give up your right to free speech.