Straight From The Mouth
The Morning Mouth's April Interview with Glenn Beck
(Reprinted by permission; Copyright © 2002 Talentmasters Inc.)
If you talk to people in Talk radio, the "talk" is about Glenn Beck. He's
not only risen to prominence in short order, but his brand of show has
talkers coast-to-coast paying close attention. He caught our attention, too.
As a publication known for spotlighting radio's hottest personalities, we've
been often asked, when Talk personalities would find their way to our cover.
Glenn Beck made our first step all too easy.
Is it true that you got into radio at 13?
Yeah, how did you know that? Yeah, I won a contest when I was 13. "Be on
the radio for an hour," that's how good that station was.
What station?
KBRC in Mount Vernon, WA.
How did you win?
Well, it was "write your playlist for an hour," and I had to bring it down
to a record store. It was then selected. I remember the DJ looking at me,
because everybody else was like 'four Led Zeppelin songs.' He looked at mine
and said, 'Kid you're really weird.' And I said, 'What do you mean?' And he
said, 'This is like all the stuff we play.' I said, 'Yeah, I know. I thought
I would make it sound like the station.' Then I said to him, 'Start this
record when they say this, then you start the next song.' He looked at me
half way through and said, 'Relax, kid. I got it.'
How did you make it to Talk?
Actually I wanted to get out of radio. I had gone back to school and
wanted to get out of radio. My dad convinced me to stay. He said, 'You didn't
get into it when you were 13 years old to throw it all away now.' I said,
'Dad, I haven't been good at it in a long time. I'm not interested in it
anymore. I'm not interested in the things I talk about.' He said, 'Well then,
find the things you are interested in talking about and talk about those.' So
I decided to stay in while I went back to school.
I'll bet you're glad you listened.
Oh boy, you ain't kiddin'. So, because of the wonders of consolidation, we
had several stations. For a while there I was running the Clear Channel
properties in New Haven, CT -- mainly into the ground. I flipped one of the
stations to Talk and just wanted to try it. I started with a 2-hour weekday
show. They only let me do it because I was doing well on the FM and they
thought if they left me alone it would shut me up. I put myself on for two
hours, and I did that for about six or eight months. They had widdled it
down, so that I was on a total of 41 minutes, with commercials, by the time I
was done. It was a bad show. But I had sent a tape to Phill Boyce, and he
called me up and said, 'Loved this, do you want to do some fill-in work for
ABC?' I was like, 'Yeah! Are you kiddin' me?' So I went to ABC and I'll never
forget, Phill called me and I think I had been on the air about 15 minutes,
this was during the whole Monica Lewinsky thing, he said, 'Glenn, I just want
to let you know that I got a call from one of the Vice Presidents of ABC and
they wanted to let you know that this is ABC and we don't use the word
Oschlong here.' I looked at my producers and I said, 'We are going to have a
hard time here.' I did two shows for ABC. I had always prepared so much for
Top 40. I always had to over-prep everything, etc. I went and I had over
prepared, as usual, for the ABC gig. I said to Stu, my producer, right before
I went on and I said, 'Do you think we are covered on everything?' He said,
'Glenn, you have enough for six shows, let alone three hours.' I opened up
the mic and started, and the next thing I knew it was ten minutes before the
end of the hour. I looked up at the clock and realized what time it was and
then I looked down at all my show prep and I realized I hadn't moved a single
paper. I hadn't gone off of anything that I had prepared. I realized that
this is where I need to go, because its natural and its just flowing for me.
So I decided to concentrate on Talk. I couldn't find anything around the area
that would allow me to stay in Connecticut so I could be around my children.
So, I hired George Hiltzik. George was a great deal of help. He said, 'Well
you have been working for Clear Channel for eight or nine years and we need
to get you in touch with Gabe Hobbs. Do you know him?' I said, 'No, I know of
him, but I don't know him.' So he said, 'Well, we need to get him on the
phone.' As he was saying that, I mean literally as he was saying that, the
phone went 'beep' and I clicked over. I hear, 'Glenn Beck?' I said, 'Yes.'
'Gabe Hobbs.' And I said, 'Wow, Hello Gabe.' 'I hear you are looking to do
Talk radio, so I want to hear some of your work.' He called me up and wanted
some tape on the show, and he had heard of me because I had told the Clear
Channel Top 40 people that I was done if I couldn't do Talk radio. I just
couldn't do it anymore. The Top 40 arm had told me that I had no talent in
that and it ain't going to happen. I told my new bride, 'You know, we are
going to give this Talk thing a whirl for two years and see what happens. It
is going to take us away from the kids. In two years we will be able to find
somebody who will give us a job up by the kids and we can move back. And in
two years if it doesn't work, then we'll know and I can just flip burgers or
whatever it was that I was going to do.' So Gabe said that he had two
opportunities for me. One was at WLW in Cincinnati and the other was in
Florida at WFLA. He wanted me in Florida, and quite frankly the idea of
trying to find your sea legs with somebody like Randy Michaels listening to
you everyday was a little overwhelming, so I decided to go with Gabe's
suggestion and came to Florida. As it turns out, it's great.
There's a great buzz from PD's about your show. What are you doing
that has them talking?
When I first talked to Gabe I said, 'I have an idea for a show and this is
kind of the direction I would be taking it in. And nobody else is doing it,
Gabe. I don't know why. I'm not the smartest guy. It either means it can't be
done and it is going to be a giant disaster, or for some reason I am just
seeing something that somebody didn't see yet and it is going to be a huge
success. I want you to know it's risk big, win big; risk big, lose big. It is
going to be one or the other.' The only thing that is different, honestly, is
that you can't predict me. You can listen to some other shows and you can
predict where that person is going to go with something. You really can't
predict where I am going to go on something and I am brutally honest. I admit
my mistakes on the air. I came out and did some brutal bits on this woman, it
was presented in the media as a "right to die" story. Honestly, I hadn't done
enough research, or more importantly, enough prayer on it for me to really
get a handle on how I felt about it. I had just been seeing the stuff that
the media had been putting out. It was on a Friday and I had done some brutal
bits on 'Let her die, she's a vegetable.' I had an opportunity to get a
closer view of what the case was really all about and I got to tell you that
it tore me up all weekend, I couldn't wait to get on the air again on Monday
and say, 'I made the biggest mistake of my life. For two months I have been
on the wrong side of this issue. I got to tell you right now that I have to
apologize to you and to her for being sloppy. It was wrong.' I felt so
unbelievably guilty because they were ready to pull her plug that week. I
said to Stu when we got in that morning, 'Stu, I got to tell you, man. I
could lose all of my credibility today.' He was like, 'Are you sure that you
are sure on this?' I said, 'Absolutely. I have to say that I was wrong and I
have to make a big deal because now I get it.' He said, 'You are exactly
right.' I have really found that if people are completely honest on the air.
You are going to make mistakes. But if you just stand up and say, "Hey I made
a mistake on this," they respect you. They don't reject you. They embrace
you, because nobody in the world today stands up and takes responsibility for
their actions. If you do, the audience will absolutely embrace you.
Do you feel like you're bringing new listeners to talk?
I saw a study about a year ago that showed that 80 percent of the audience
was from FM. I didn't actually see it, I was told that. I think a good
portion of my audience is new to the AM dial, not all of them. It's
surprising, the people who hate me the most at the beginning are the
traditional Talk listeners. They are the 70-year-old women who have been
listening to that Talk radio station since 1967. They hate me when I first
get on, because it is a totally different approach. But it is not different
in its substance. It is different in its style. They don't get that right
away.
I heard you on the air this morning talking about Bill O'Reilly's
entry into Talk radio. You suggested that even though he was going up against
the likes of Rush Limbaugh, you thought it was good for radio.
Absolutely. There hasn't been anybody in Rush's league. That is not a slam
on Talk radio as much as it is praise for Rush Limbaugh's talent. There's not
been anybody in Rush's league to compete against him. He was an absolute
revolutionary when he first started in Talk radio. There hasn't been anybody
to challenge him. Outside of Rush Limbaugh, O'Reilly coming to Talk radio is
great because it brings potential cume to the AM band. It is vastly different
to be on AM than it is on FM.
Do you see your show attracting a younger audience to Talk?
I have a five share in teens in Tampa. We were number one 18-24, and I
haven't seen ratings in a while so I don't know about this last book, but in
18-24 year olds we were number one or number two. It's not all about style.
However, the style brings the younger people in. The substance keeps the
traditional Talk person happy.
It's interesting that both you and Rush came out of Top 40 radio. Do
you think your background in this format gave you an edge in Talk?
Yes, because anybody who was rooted in Top 40, in particular, and maybe
Country music, you were taught all the little tricks of the trade that built
cume and quarter hours. You know that there has to be sizzle on it. For
instance, the average time on the air for one of my listeners is 37 seconds.
Phill Boyce said to me on that show when I filled in that first or second
time, he said, 'Glenn I have never heard anybody blaze through phones like
you do.' I said, 'Oh, is that a good thing or a bad thing?' He said, 'I don't
know. I have just never heard anybody do it.'
What's your advice for somebody who wants to make the switch to
Talk?
Keep the Four P's in mind, production, people, phones, and profit.
Meaning, the production value on the show needs to be high, and I don't mean
you need to have bits. I consider some phone calls production pieces. The way
we deal with the phones is part of the production of the show. Next is
people. Be the dumbest person in the room, not the smartest. Surround
yourself with good, thinking people that do not necessarily think like you,
but can predict the way you think.
How would you label your show?
My show is very conservative. I am an extraordinarily conservative
individual, socially, politically, everything.
But no one refers to you as a conservative Talk show host?
That's probably fair. I don't think I have been around enough to have any
labels stick to me yet.
It's not to say that you aren't conservative, just that you aren't
pigeonholed.
Right, but I think that is for a couple of reasons. One, the production
value of the show, the way the show sounds... Two, what is a conservative?
That is a viewpoint on something, what does that mean? I am a human being,
just like everybody else. I am interested in a lot of things. I will talk
about the celebrity boxing match last night. I'll talk about "Ally McBeal."
I'll talk about whatever is hot out there. If it happens to be the war. If it
happens to be, God forbid, Bill Clinton. If it happens to be a TV show. I am
to be a reflection of not only of myself, but also to reflect whatever is the
hot thing. How many programmers or hosts themselves will say, "Oh no, we're
just this. We talk about this." That's crap. How many times do you go to a
family function and only talk about politics? Next time you are sitting
around the table at a family function, listen to the topics and listen how
quickly those topics can change. Watch how they can change from a memory of
something to a serious political issue to something about children to
something like, "Hey, the bread is pretty good."
So everything is free game?
Absolutely, because they are free game in real life. The more you can be
yourself, the more you can put research down and be yourself, the bigger
chance you have of winning. Now, this is assuming that you are a decent
likeable human being. George Hiltsik said that to me before he decided that
he would take ten percent of my money, that was an amazing discovery. I am on
the phone with him and he said, 'I need to check you out.' I said, 'Wait a
minute. There is a possibility that you won't take ten percent of my money?'
He said, 'In my Talk talent, I won't take people who aren't good, likeable
people because you can't fake it very long in Talk. In any other format they
may be coming to listen to Mariah Carey or Alan Jackson, but in this format
they are coming to hear you. And if you aren't a good decent likeable human
being, no matter who you have around, no matter what you are talking about,
you're done.'
How do you prep for a Talk show? Is it different than when you did
FM-music shows?
Yeah, but not in the preparation. We will spend between two and five hours
a day on just prepping the show. That's in the studio prep work. That's not
what I do on reading, etc. The biggest psychological difference from somebody
coming from a music format into Talk radio is there is no net, ever. If you
are out of stuff to say, if something goes wrong, you ain't going anywhere,
man. You aren't going to play the new record from 'N Sync. You are on your
own. Psychologically, that is really tough. You better have enough stuff in
your head. You got to have a fill record in your head, you know what I mean?
'Oh crap, I'm four minutes short.' Four minutes is an eternity when you are
out of material. The other thing is, this audience is the most brutal
audience I have ever come across. Talk radio listeners are really smart, very
well informed. So, you better have a pretty decent handle on a bunch of
stuff, because once they smell blood they will absolutely rip you apart.
Who critiques your show?
Nobody right now, except for David G. Hall, he just started as a Sr. Vice
President with Premiere. I am really excited about having him. You just look
at his resume. You know what's funny, I was sitting at the Talk Radio
Convention (TRS/2002) will Phil Boyce, Jack Swanson, Gabe Hobbs, and David G.
Hall. I looked at those guys and said, 'You know about six months ago, none
of you guys would have taken my call.'
How is feedback from a national audience different from
local?
I think the transition to Talk was just a difficult as the transition to
syndication. Now syndication just means that instead of 30 to 40 pieces of
hate mail a day, I get a thousand. Last night I had 1300 pieces of e-mail. I
don't get a chance to read them all, but I get a gist of what people are
saying.
What's the best part about being syndicated?
I'm going to sound like I'm sucking up, well I am sucking up... Best thing
about being syndicated would probably being able to work with the people at
Premiere. In fact I told Trevor Oliver this about a month into it. I said,
'Trevor, I got news for you man, I have never worked with a group of people
where every single one of them is an unbelievable pro.'
How has your life changed most since syndication?
I no longer have to eat the food in the conference room that has been
brought by the clients. Beyond that, my day is just more filled, I'm busier.
I work well into the night. I do a lot of phone stuff that you never have to
do when you are local. It kills me. I can now call Program Directors and they
will pick up the phone. It's incredible. I remember the first day I had to
call 20 stations. They will pick up the phone and they'll say, 'Glenn Beck!'
Honestly, it could be in Cheyenne, WY. I didn't think Program Directors knew
how to answer the phone.
You mentioned before that you almost left radio, what would you have
done?
I have no idea. I went to college for theology.
You could have been a minister.
Come on!
A televangelist.
Hey, no seriously, thanks. That's a compliment.
Coming up as a baker's son, do you still have a pastry that makes
you salivate?
Croissants. No actually, I would come to class with pie or German
Chocolate cake or whatever. I would trade them for Wonder Bread. I really
would. Wonder Bread you can roll up into a ball, like rubber. It had
chemicals in it. It had to be good.
Since joining Premiere, have you used the word, Oschlong'?
I don't think I have, but I will tomorrow just because I can.
(Editor: Special thanks to Premiere's Amir Forester for her
assistance with this interview.)
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