Why Fox fired Glenn Beck

You've heard that Fox News fired Glenn Beck, right? You heard that Fox couldn't manage him anymore. You read that network president Roger Ailes canned him to stem the rush of advertisers fleeing his program. You saw on the evening news that his program has been shedding viewers so fast Beck can hardly stop crying.

Those headlines and news leads have been repeated so often it’s safe to assume they’re all true. Even Beck’s kids must think their old man got a pink slip.

Except that he didn’t.

The grossly misleading headlines are typical of competing networks and talking heads that prefer a controversial story about sinking ships to the truth. Of course they’re rooting for Fox and Beck’s collective failures; that’s the game plan in a highly competitive marketplace.

The real surprise would have been if the Los Angeles Times or other news outlets had reported the situation more accurately. Isn’t it a better story when you hear Beck was fired because he didn’t get along with network brass? Don’t your ears perk up when some talking head reports that Beck’s gig has suddenly become the biggest television flop since "The Chevy Chase Show"?

Unfortunately, the truth is much less controversial.

The fair and balanced reality is Beck’s contract was set to expire this year. He and his vastly underrated business and creative teams at Mercury Radio Arts have long considered a change when he became, in effect, a free agent. It’s not what his detractors want you to hear, but if Beck and his production company had wanted to keep the daily show, he would have signed a new deal and continued clubbing the competition.

While Beck’s ratings have slipped from the sky highs of the health care debate, he still pulls 2 million viewers for a live broadcast at 5 p.m. EDT. Consider that a moment. He’s capturing those ratings with a show that airs on the East Coast while most are commuting home and at 2 p.m. on the West Coast, when folks are still tied to their cubicles.

Although he airs during Denny’s senior discount hour, he’s still pulverizing the prime time 8, 9 and 10 p.m. shows on the other cable news networks. He has unprecedented numbers for such an early broadcast. Are we really to believe Fox killed a show breaking ratings records in a time slot no one wants?