and they all cheered the rodeo clown

Yesterday I wrote about CNN, Glenn Beck, and the power of infotainment.

Beck, on Paula Zahn’s show to promote his “special” about Islamic extremism, referred to himself as a “rodeo clown” (not a journalist).

Americans seem to love a rodeo:

Beck #1 In Demo On Cable News Wed.
Headline News host Glenn Beck delivered his best ratings ever on Wednesday night, with 547,000 demo viewers at 7pm and 384,000 demo viewers at 9. ‘Glenn Beck’ was the #1 cable show in the demo for the night.
Among total viewers, Beck averaged 1,026,000 at 7 and 970,000 at 9. That’s more than double Beck’s previous high.

The ratings spike is thanks in large part to a major ad campaign for Beck’s special report, titled “Exposed: The Extremist Agenda…”

(via TVNewser)