January 26, 2010, - 3:03 pm
Vannity, O’Reilly Seething?: Glenn Beck 2nd Most Admired TV Personality
I’d bet that Sean Vannity and Bill O’Reilly are privately seething over a much-publicized Harris Interactive poll that just came out. They see Glenn Beck, whose FOX News show airs in daytime, nipping at their heels and getting, at times, higher ratings in daytime than they get in prime-time, a much higher volume day-part. (For the record, I’m no fan of any of these three, including Beck, but I think the item is newsworthy, nonetheless.)
Drama Queen Act Beats Phony “Great American” BS
Asked who their favorite TV personality was, 2,276 respondents picked Glenn Beck at Number 2, just behind Oprah. Bill O’Reilly barely placed in the Top Ten, at last place, and Sean Vannity . . . well, Sean who? He didn’t even make the list. And, again, he’s in prime-time, unlike Beck. Moreover, in several categories, Beck was THE MOST admired television personality, including Conservatives, Republicans, Matures (64+) and two demographics that are not expected: Midwesterners, and Independents. Yup, he beat out Oprah in both of those.
But in the coveted younger age groups, there’s no Beck or any other conservative. Oprah dominates Gen-X and Baby Boomers, and Conan O’Brien is most admired by Echo Boomers (ages 18-32). Check out the complete details of the poll. Given that the survey was conducted between December 7 and 14, 2009, Charlie Sheen’s alleged violence against his wife and Jay Leno’s late-night machinations didn’t enter into consideration. Still, it, sadly, appears that David Letterman’s mass orgy with his female staff didn’t hurt him much in public opinion (and perhaps helped him).
As I’ve noted on this site before, Vannity is worried and desperate as Beck continues to make headlines and get magazine covers, whereas Vannity continues to be the only three-hour on-air tribute show to Rush Limbaugh, whose show Sean cribs heavily, in addition to telling everyone they’re a great American. He simply doesn’t have the intelligence or acting chops or much of anything else to generate any excitement. Beck has some of that and has developed a cult-like following of enthusiasts. And Vannity knows that FOX News execs are considering moving Glenn Beck into primetime, perhaps even into Hannity’s prized 9-10:00 p.m. Eastern time-slot and moving Vannity into the less watched Greta Van Surgery hour.
The only thing keeping Vannity in the prized slot he has now is not his performance or Q factor. It’s that he’s close friends with FOX News Vice President of Programming Bill Shine, and they sometimes ride into New York together from their Long Island homes.
Vannity, right now, is probably hoping that Glenn Beck’s career ends–as Beck ludicrously said about Scott Brown–“with a dead intern.” Good luck with that.
Hey, Sean, you’re a Great Unadmired American.
Here’s the complete list of most admired American TV personalities according to the poll:
1) Oprah Winfrey
2) Glenn Beck
3) Jay Leno
4) Ellen DeGeneres
5) Hugh Laurie
6) Jon Stewart
7) Charlie Sheen
8 ) Mark Harmon
9) David Letterman
10) Bill O’Reilly
Tags: Bill O'Reilly, Bill Shine, favorite TV personality, FOX News, Fox News Channel, Glenn Beck, most admired TV personality, Oprah, prime time, Primetime, Sean Hannity, Sean Vannity, Vannity
Frankly Deb…
I DON’T LIKE ANY OF THEM.
Bob Porrazzo on January 26, 2010 at 3:23 pm