Glenn Beck: 'I Hope I Have Earned Some Level of Your Trust'
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By Merrill Knox on Jun. 30, 2011 - 6:29 PM
The final broadcast of "The Glenn Beck Show" was a little bit of everything: a look back, a glimpse into the future and a frank assessment of the reasons behind Beck's Fox News Channel departure.
Beck, who ad-libbed much of his last hour as an FNC host, spoke candidly about the decision to launch a web-based TV channel, saying he hoped he had earned viewers' trust on "The Glenn Beck Show." "Anyone watching this show knows that I have bent this format so far out of its structure, out of its parameters," Beck said. "This is a news channel. I do commentary."
"This show has become a movement," he said. "It's not a TV show. And that's why it doesn't belong on television. It belongs in your homes, it belongs in your neighborhoods."
Beck also flatly denied that his departure was tied to a decline in his ratings, noting that his program broke records in its 5 p.m. timeslot. He said he started and ended his tenure at Fox the same way, with a handshake from Fox News chairman and co-founder Roger Ailes. "I'll never work with a guy smarter than Roger Ailes. Never," Beck said.
Beck mentioned his future projects several times, saying he had several things he never got around to talking about on FNC. "I'll get to it … just not tonight," he said. "I'm out of time here."
Video of Beck's opening monologue, which began on the sidewalk in front of the News Corp. building, after the jump.