It’s an odd thing to watch those once popular in media shuffle off the television and radio coils, having amassed a truly king’s ransom and ‘be away’ then, but almost never to surface again with the ferocity and followers they once did. It would appear what we say in publishing is true in other professional arenas also: it’s not just talent; everyone has talent. It’s luck as much as talent. And a drive to be in the chartreuse light, also. And a commitment to earning a more than adequate living. And sometimes, a wish to help the world as well.
(the photo accompanying, is from an ad Glenn Beck made to advertise his show. The making of the ad can be seen here wherein he allows some chemical/substance to be rubbed on his cheeks to make his eyes water heavily. h/t JSpencer):
I think of Oprah going to paid radio and Howard Stern also, being outside many persons’ reaches financially. I think of Larry King retiring who was a force of gallant interviewing, now seen as too soft a style. I think of Barbara Walters who faded from sight, then came back with Rosie O’Donnell, who then faded from sight, and yet Walters hangs on — as do others, but the gig that rises highest and appears to be most ‘followed’ is to position oneself to be daily visible and highly produced whether in radio or in television… that is, for those wanting to be nationally or internationally famous.
My aunt Edna, a tall rawboned woman from her Cherokee blood, used to say, ‘Beware fame even as a shoemaker, for people will never see who you truly are ever again.’ And there’s a truth to that… too a person seeking fame has to agree to be grossly misunderstood and vilified as well as deified; neither one being real to the soul. It’s a hard row for the soul, but perhaps not so much for the ego which does tend to swell to proportions that sometimes turn to hurt the very person who is/ was so bright at the beginning.
YouTube is a valid means for a ‘moment in the sun’ for many via numbers of people viewing the videos, but it does not have the same sustained reach or production values of radio and television that displays pundits, entertainers, interviewers, serious news people to the public and keeps them in that often chartreuse light.
Most who lose or vacate their prime time slots, from both left, right and middle, whether in drama, news, soaps, sitcoms et al, often seem to wander off into another land, certainly not forgotten… but the ‘luck factor’ very seldom comes back as bright.
In followings, its not watchers or readers or listeners that glint off that ‘luck.’ It’s what some people call ‘fans.’ And fans are way different than watchers, readers or listeners. They want daily meat. Offer both feedback and loyalty. Non-fans, if I could put it that way, do not have tight affiliations nor ‘loyalties to/with the ‘star.’
Below, one sees that in media, ‘business is business’, and free and impetuous and thoughtful speech comes to a close for many who pulled hard on free speech premises… when corporate money bags start to sag not from weight of coin, but for lacks of same.
from Crains article by Matthew Flamm
Beck’s Time at Fox News is coming to an end.
The cable news channel and Mr. Beck’s production company, Mercury Radio Arts, announced on Tuesday that the controversial host will “transition off of his daily program later this year.” The two companies will continue to work together, developing and producing projects for the cable television channel as well as for its digital properties, the announcement said.
Mr. Beck, whose contract with Fox News expires in December, had been expected to leave. The host has built his production company into a $32 million business, according to Forbes, and he has talked about expanding into other formats.
Radio and book publishing contribute the largest portions of his total revenue–$10 million and $13 million, respectively. Fox News contributes just $2 million.Nonetheless, his television show raised his profile to unprecedented levels.
Though the host will continue to work with Fox News, his frequent outrageous remarks have reportedly been an embarrassment to the channel’s news operation. More important, national advertisers long ago fled the show, leaving it almost exclusively to direct response advertisers.According to the African-American advocacy group ColorOfChange.org, which launched an advertising boycott of the show in July 2009, more than 300 advertisers have pulled out.
It also hasn’t helped that Glenn Beck is no longer the ratings juggernaut that it was a year ago, during the height of the Tea Party’s rise. For the first quarter of 2011, the show was down 31% in total viewers, to 2 million, compared to the year-ago period, according to Nielsen. In the advertiser-preferred category of adults 25 to 54 years old, the show plunged 38%, to 481,000.
Mr. Beck still easily wins his 5 p.m. time period, providing a strong lead-in to Brett Baier’s 6 p.m. news program. Still, media buyers say that the host’s departure makes good business sense.