TheBlaze

TheBlaze
TheBlaze logo as of 2017
Launched September 12, 2011
Owned by Mercury Radio Arts
Country United States
Language English
Broadcast area Worldwide
Headquarters Irving, Texas
Website www.theblaze.com
Availability
Satellite
Dish Network 212
Cable
Cablevision 157 (SD)
828 (HD)
Available on select cable providers Check local listings for channel numbers
IPTV
Roku TheBlaze
Google Play TheBlaze
iTunes TheBlaze
Apple TV TheBlaze
Verizon FiOS 112 (SD)
612 (HD)
Streaming media
Watch Live TheBlaze.com
Sling TV TheBlaze
TuneIn TheBlaze

TheBlaze is an American conservative news and entertainment network available on television, radio, and the Internet that was founded by talk radio personality Glenn Beck, based in Irving, Texas.[1][2] TheBlaze has studios and offices based in the Las Colinas urban district in Irving and Los Angeles.

The network is available on regional cable providers throughout the United States, on Verizon Fios channel 112, on Dish Network channel 212, on the Roku Device, on Sling TV, and is available internationally on its own online streaming service. The live audio stream is available on iHeartRadio and both the audio stream and live television stream are available on TheBlaze app, which is on the iPhone and on Android through Google Play.

As of December 30, 2014, TheBlaze was available on more than 100 television providers, with eleven of those being in the top 25 nationwide.[3]

History

Mercury Radio Arts serves as the production and operating company over the TheBlaze's outlets
The Mercury Studios Building, which houses the main studios and offices for Mercury Radio Arts

Beck spawned Mercury Radio Arts in 2002, naming it after the Orson Welles seminal Mercury Theatre, which produced live theatrical broadcasts during the 1930s. The company produces all of Beck's productions, including his eponymous radio show, books, and live stage shows, and his official website.[4][5]

On August 31, 2010, three days after his Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Beck launched the TheBlaze website, describing it as an alternative to "mainstream media outlets", which he said are "distorting facts to fit rigid agendas," he said TheBlaze will feature "breaking news, original reporting, insightful opinions, and engaging videos about the stories that matter most" and that "we will examine our culture, deal with matters of faith and family, and we won't be afraid of a history lesson."[6] The site was reportedly modeled after The Huffington Post, and has been compared accordingly by Matt DeLong of the Washington Post and Steve Krakauer of Mediaite.[7]

Beck announced the creation of an online-only network that would replace Insider Extreme as a result of his Fox News departure on June 7, 2011. On September 12, 2011, Beck launched GBTV (Glenn Beck TV) as an exclusive internet streaming network, produced and operated by Mercury Radio Arts. GBTV would air a television adaptation of his radio show, his television show, and other original programming, including Real News from TheBlaze, a nightly news program hosted by former CNN personality Amy Holmes.[8] On June 18, 2012, Mercury Radio Arts announced the consolidation of all of its outlets under the "TheBlaze" brand, thus renaming the internet television station from GBTV to TheBlaze.[9]

In 2012, Dish Network placed TheBlaze on its channel lineup. As a result of the "Get TheBlaze" campaign (a movement led by supporters to have other supporters call their cable or satellite television provider and ask them to carry the channel), several smaller, regional cable operators also have recently picked up TheBlaze—including Cablevision (also known as Optimum TV – Channel 828), a major cable provider in the New York metropolitan area.[10][11]

Betsy Morgan was named CEO of TheBlaze on December 9, 2014, replacing Chris Balfe, who had been CEO since the beginning. Morgan left the company on in June 2015.[12] Chief Revenue Officer Kraig Kitchin replaced Morgan until he resigned in January 2016, taking the position of Interim Head of Sales and being replaced by Stewart Padveen, a digital startup entrepreneur, who resigned in February 2017, after completing a successful turnaround year at TheBlaze, launching a new OTT & CMS platform, innovative new monetization opportunities, highly popular new digital content, expanded distribution, and doubling TheBlaze's audience size. Beck took over as CEO of the company in May 2017.[13]

On Monday, November 2, 2015, Beck sent an open letter to the Republican National Convention, requesting permission for TheBlaze to host the ninth and final Republican presidential debate; this offer was not accepted.[14][15]

On August 31, 2017, TheBlaze laid off nearly 60 employees, which cut its personnel by almost 30%.[16]

On June 20, 2018, TheBlaze website announced that it would be shutting down the comments section of its website effective 6/24/18 citing that; over the past several years, most of the discussion about its stories had moved to social media and that they wanted to better focus on engaging with their readers on Facebook and Twitter.[17]

On June 24, 2018, Midnight (EST) TheBlaze's comment section went offline.

Programs

Notable daily programs

ProgramHostTime (Eastern)NotesOriginal Run
Pat Gray UnleashedPat Gray7–9 AMLive – Video simulcast of TheBlaze Radio Network radio program starring Glenn's best friend and former radio co-host Pat Gray2017 – present
The Glenn Beck Program (stylized glenn RADIO on TV)Glenn Beck
Stu Burguiere		9 AM–NoonLive – Video simulcast of the Premiere Networks radio program2001 – present
Steve DeaceSteve DeaceNoon–2 PMLive – Video simulcast of the CRTV program. Also airs live on TheBlaze Radio Network.2017 – present
(On TheBlaze 2018 – present)
Glenn (stylized glenn TV)Glenn Beck5–5:30 PMTelevision-exclusive program; a continuation of Beck's previous television shows that had aired on Headline News until 2008 and Fox News Channel until 2011, renamed Glenn in 20162006 – present
The News And Why It MattersSara Gonzales5:30–6 PMTelevision-exclusive program; Panel program hosted by Sara Gonzales, featuring panel members Glenn Beck, Stu Burguiere, Pat Gray, and occasional guest panelists. Podcast and on-demand video version features "Overtime" segment2018 – present

Notable weekly shows

Television studios

TheBlaze Dallas studios at the Studios at Las Colinas looking into the television control room

TheBlaze headquarters is located in Irving, Texas, at the Mercury Studios (formerly the Studios at Las Colinas), where feature films Robocop and JFK, and television series Walker, Texas Ranger and Prison Break were filmed.[18] Mercury Radio Arts has taken over the entire complex, where it currently operates production studios, a global newsroom, and also houses Mercury Productions.

Mercury Radio Arts, owned and operated by Beck, operates all of its properties from the complex, including TheBlaze, Mercury Productions, Mercury Ink publishing, 1791 Supply & Co., Real Estate Agents I Trust, and the Mercury One charity organization.

Notable personalities

Program hosts for television and radio

  • Glenn Beck – Glenn TV (host), Glenn Radio (host)
  • Stu Burguiere – Glenn Radio (co-host/executive producer), The Wonderful World of Stu (host), Glenn TV (executive producer)
  • Pat Gray – Pat Gray Unleashed (host), Glenn Radio (recurring regular and frequent fill-in host)
  • Sara Gonzales - The News and Why It Matters (host)

Frequent guests

Former hosts and contributors

Additional outlets

Radio

TheBlaze Radio Network
Broadcast area Worldwide via Internet streaming and smartphone apps
Frequency Internet (iHeartRadio, TheBlaze apps, web)
First air date September 5, 2012
Format Conservative libertarian talk radio
Class Internet radio station
Owner Mercury Radio Arts
TheBlaze
Website theblaze.com/radio

TheBlaze Radio Network was launched on September 5, 2012 and is available for free online via the company's website, iOS and Android apps, and the iHeartRadio app. TheBlaze Radio Network is the exclusive home of conservative talk-show hosts Pat Gray and Doc Thompson.

Online

TheBlaze.com
show screenshot
Homepage screenshot on 14 May 2016
Type of site
 News and opinion
Available in English
Owner Mercury Radio Arts (Glenn Beck)
Editor Leon Wolf
Website theblaze.com
Alexa rank

Decrease 6,455 (July 2018)[19]

Decrease 1,185 United States (July 2018)[19]
Commercial Yes
Launched August 26, 2010
Current status Active

TheBlaze website launched on August 26, 2010. According to Beck, the site took two months to design.[6] At launch, the site's chief editor was Scott Baker, with its associate editor-video producer Pam Key and with Jon Seidl and Meredith Jessup as reporters. Key is known for her blog, Naked Emperor News: Smoking Gun Video and Images. Baker is a former Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcast journalist who previously worked at The Huffington Post and Breitbart TV. Seidl, of the Manhattan Institute, previously worked at the American Spectator. Jessup previously worked at Townhall.com. Journalists joining TheBlaze later included S. E. Cupp and David Harsanyi.

On its opening morning, the site featured advertisements for Dick Armey's new book and for Goldline International,[6] and its lead story dealt with allegations that Education Secretary Arne Duncan encouraged Education Department employees to attend Al Sharpton's counter-rally in Washington, which took place on the same day as the Restoring Honor rally and at which Duncan spoke.[20] Another story, criticizing Feisal Abdul Rauf, featured the headline "Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Ground Zero mosque, claims to be a Jew, Christian, and a Muslim. But some say that's impossible."[21]

In January 2011, Betsy Morgan became president and Kraig Kitchin director of sales. Morgan had helmed the Huffington Post until 2009. Kitchin had formerly been the president of Premier Radio.[22]

In March 2011, the site was noted for its critique of James O'Keefe's NPR sting video.[23]

Visits to the website declined from 21.5 million unique visitors in March 2014 to 8 million in February 2017.[24]

Books

Mercury Ink is a co-publishing deal with Simon & Schuster and was founded by Glenn Beck in 2011 as the publishing imprint of Mercury Radio Arts.[25] Started in 2011, Mercury Ink publishes adult and young adult novels and non-fiction titles. Including books written by Glenn Beck, authors signed to Mercury Ink include New York Times best seller Richard Paul Evans.

Magazine

TheBlaze (entitled Fusion prior to September 2012) was a monthly news magazine published by Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze in New York City and circulated throughout the United States. Its former title, Fusion, was taken from Beck's talk radio program's slogan, "The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment." The editor-in-chief was Scott Baker.[26] The magazine was sixteen pages and was published monthly except for February and August. It was available digitally and in print.[27] The last edition of TheBlaze magazine was published in April 2015.

References

  1. ↑ Matt DeLong, Glenn Beck launches conservative news site The Blaze, Washington Post ( August 31, 2010).
  2. ↑ Sydney Ember, Sinclair Deal Draws Unlikely Opponent: Conservative News Media, New York Times (August 8, 2017).
  3. ↑ Steinberg, Brian. "Suddenlink Launches Glenn Beck's TheBlaze After Removing Viacom Outlets". Variety. Retrieved July 7, 2015.
  4. ↑ Leibovich, Mark (September 29, 2010). "Being Glenn Beck". New York Times Magazine.
  5. ↑ Rose, Lacey (August 30, 2010). "Glenn Beck's $35 Million Empire Adds A News Site". Forbes Blogs: Moneywood.
  6. 1 2 3 Barr, Andy (August 31, 2010). "Glenn Beck launches news site". POLITICO. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ Rose, Lacey (August 31, 2010). "Glenn Beck's $35 Million Empire Adds A News Site". Forbes. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  8. ↑ Amy Holmes Joins Glenn Beck's GBTV Network As Anchor, Huffington Post, August 9, 2011
  9. ↑ "Glenn Beck drops his name from Web network, promises media 'revolution' – CNN.com". CNN. June 18, 2012. Retrieved September 1, 2013.
  10. ↑ Morgenstern, Madeleine (March 28, 2013). "TheBlaze TV Launching on 4 More Cable Operators". TheBlaze. Retrieved March 28, 2013.
  11. ↑ Adams, Becket (May 1, 2013). "TheBlaze Extends Its Reach, Announces TV Deal with Tri State Cable Provider". TheBlaze. Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  12. ↑ "Betsy Morgan, CEO of Glenn Beck's The Blaze, Steps Down". www.adweek.com. Retrieved 2016-05-30.
  13. ↑ "Glenn Beck New Blaze CEO".
  14. ↑ "Glenn Beck Wants to Host a GOP Debate and Bill O'Reilly Hopes They Let Him %%". Politicus USA. 2015-11-03. Retrieved 2018-01-30.
  15. ↑ Central, Election (October 14, 2014). "Republican Debate Schedule (2016 Primary Debates)". Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  16. ↑ 09.01.17 12:00 AM ET. "After Mass Layoffs, Can Glenn Beck Still Save 'The Blaze'?". Thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2017-09-07.
  17. ↑ theblaze.com
  18. ↑ "Jobs". October 30, 2016.
  19. 1 2 "Theblaze.com Site Info". Alexa Internet. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  20. ↑ DeLong, Matt (August 31, 2010). "Glenn Beck launches conservative news site TheBlaze.com". Washington Post. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  21. ↑ Weiner, Juli (August 31, 2010). "Is the Conservative Media Ignoring the Launch of The Blaze, Glenn Beck's New Web Site?". Vanity Fair. Retrieved August 31, 2010.
  22. ↑ Lang, Brent (January 5, 2011). "Glenn Beck Hires HuffPo's Morgan for His Fledgling Website". The Wrap.
  23. ↑ "Analysts, NPR: Video edit of executive misleading". Associated Press. March 14, 2011.
  24. ↑ Barrabi, Thomas (27 March 2017). "Will Tomi Lahren's Apparent Firing from TheBlaze Burn Glenn Beck's Brand?". Fox News. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
  25. ↑ "Glenn Beck Re-Ups with S&S; Launches New Imprint". PublishersWeekly.com. Retrieved 2016-12-30.
  26. ↑ "Scott Baker". TheBlaze.com. Retrieved 2016-02-27.
  27. ↑ "FAQ". Archived from the original on November 14, 2014. Retrieved December 3, 2014.
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