War Brewing at Fox Over Beck

Glenn Beck’s meteoric rise has some at Fox News worried that he’s becoming the face of the network—and ruining any chance it has to be viewed as a legitimate news source. Anonymous sources at the network tell Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post that Beck is a constant topic of conversation among Fox’s journalists, who believe he undermines their credibility with his inflammatory rants.

Beck largely operates as an outsider, and has stocked his staff with personal loyalists. He’s clashed with Fox over his touring schedule and appearances, and there’s a network VP assigned to monitor his show—a full-time job. Some staffers also dish that Beck’s emotional breakdowns are fully rehearsed. Asked about it, the president of Beck’s Mercury Radio said that Beck was “proud to show his emotions, unlike the cowardly, two-faced critics who hide behind anonymity.” (More Glenn Beck stories.)