CNN Covers Huge Washington Protest While Ignoring Its Planner: Glenn Beck

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by Colby Hall | 11:59 am, September 12th, 2009

» 17 comments

beck-20090812-912project Apart from the discovery of the Lascaux cave paintings in 1940, September 12th is a day that has largely lived in obscurity. But thanks to the meteoric rise of popularity and influence of Fox News anchor Glenn Beck, today is now also known for The 9/12 Project – a day for followers of the Tea Party movement and other conservative groups to march on the nation’s capital to protest what they say is out-of-control government spending (with similar, smaller events are expected in cities across the country). It’s a given that the march will receive extensive coverage on Fox News Channel (starting at 1:00 PM EST), but raises questions of how other news outlets should cover this event — as grass-roots movement, publicity stunt or both?

While its too early to gauge the overall attendance and success of this event, it is getting a lot of attention by CNN. However, in its early reports, a viewer would never know that the event was conceived and promoted by the Fox host. Beck put together The 9/12 Project, a campaign named for the “nine principles and twelve values that embody the spirit of the American people on the day after the September 11 attacks.”

Beck has previously supported the tea party protests from their inception, both on his shows and by participating in fundraisers, and has also promoted tea parties organized by FreedomWorks and the American Family Association with whom he’s working with on the 9/12 project.

Before coming to the Fox News Channel, Beck had his own show on CNN’s Headline News. Now that he has effectively created his own news spectacle, he has put CNN in a significant quandary – how does one cover the event and ignore the individual who put it together? See for yourself in the following clip:

9/12 Project, 912project.com, Beck, CNN, fox news, Glenn Beck, March on Washington, msnbc, The 9/12 Project

ChrisNH

Beck shouldn’t care whether his persona is attached to this event or not (as far as media coverage is concerned). The event is the main thing, not the name of the person who championed it. I’d actually think less of Beck were he to be miffed by this supposed slight.
Colby Hall

I don’t see it as a slight so much as a quandry that CNN is in. They are covering the protest, but by ignoring Glenn Beck (the guy who conceived of the event) they aren’t reporting the whole story.
m

It’s interesting that essentially Fox News has replaced the political opposition earlier reserved for political parties. There really is no “Republican party” anymore, there is only Fox News.
libra blue

CNN is barely covering the protest, they spent more time talking about Joe Wilson’s remark, even asking the protesters what they thought of him. Their coverage is laugable, they even have their Kathy “lipstick on a pig” Griffin lookalike “reporter” Lisa Dejardin covering it while Fredricka Whitfield sat there with a sourpuss look on her face.
SuperSmart

Yes, I do find it odd that CNN isn’t reporting the fact that Glenn Beck, the leader of this 9/12 Project that is trying to take advantage of the tragedy of 9/11 to push a political agenda (a shameful act in its own right)… but they also aren’t reporting that Glenn Beck hates the victims of 9/11:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hf33g9ep4YU

Or, to quote the ever-loving Glenn Beck: “You know, it took me about a year to start hating the 9/11 victims families.”

So, he is quick to publicly voice a hatred of everyday Americans because their family members were murdered en mass. What a complete and total douche-bag. And those who support him are equally as vile.
Facebook User

What I find odd is that Beck is ranting about corruption. Just who does he think he’s palling around with?

http://24ahead.com/912-tea-party-march-washington-dc-glenn-beck-freedomworks
libra blue

The thing about Beck’s Howard Beale type schtick is that he mixes the truth with his own agenda and often sounds like he is feeding off the fears of many well meaning Americans. I think he is right about a number of issues, but you have to be able to separate the two and that is what I find troubling about him and his message, because as we found out from the Obama bunch, many people are not very informed about political issues and are easily fooled and manipulated. If he doesn’t back off some it may backfire on him in the end..
CaptainAmerica

But you give the impression Glen Beck hates the 9/11 families. Why don’t you quote what he said about only 10 of them. Only 10 of them out of the over 3,000. HUGE DIFFERENCE. Ann Coulter also talked about those same “witches of East Brunswick”.
SuperSmart

I don’t hate any of those families. Why do you? Why does anyone? How can anyone?
StewartIII

CNN Live Shot Drowned Out By Shouts of ‘Glenn Beck’
http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/cnn/cnn_live_shot_drowned_out_by_shouts_of_glenn_beck_130899.asp
StewartIII

ChickaBOOMer — CNN: Contrived News Network
http://chickaboomer.blogspot.com/2009/09/cnn-contrived-news-network.html
Modern Patriot

SuperSmart: You need a new screen name because the one you’re using is not really reflective of, or evident in your writing. The “912″ project is based on the theme (people coming together) the day “after 911″. The only political agenda I see here is yours in the very message you accuse Beck of doing the same in. Don’t have to be to “smart” to figure that out.

For your second post. The reason he hated them is because they were trying to take advantage of the crisis for for their own person gain. And as stated above you don’t seem to point out that he is talking about 10 people.
m

I think the 9/12 Project is an attempt to take advantage of the crisis for personal gain. Cha-ching!
Modern Patriot

m says:
Hey thats really deep man. But which crisis, there are so many to choose from. The 9/12 project was really a stimulus package using private funds from those you participated by showing up. Citizens for change.
m

Or for Glenn Beck to drive his own ratings.
ImNotBlue

See… that’s why Beck didn’t go to the rally. Because he knew that m’s charge of “for personal gain,” would be the cry from the MSM. By not going, it’s a little harder to make that claim, no?
m

I think it’s possible to make the claim regardless whether he went or not, except that it would be a much stronger one had he been there.