How Glenn Beck Wants to Shape the Culture
Conservative media icon Glenn Beck recently spent time with National Review?s Eliana Johnson, and their time together has led to a revealing profile of a man who is changing his focus little by little from tackling hard news to impacting culture.
Beck shared the inspiration for his move toward culture: none other than Walt Disney.
The item that most inspires him right now is a prospectus of Disney World, hand-colored by Walt Disney himself, which he has propped against a window ? or at least, a photocopy of it. He keeps the real item, which he won at an auction three years ago, at his home in Dallas. ?I?m now the owner of every book written on Walt Disney in any language,? he says. He doesn?t know exactly how many that is. A year ago, he distributed a biography of Disney to the members of his staff. ?I said when I left Fox that this half of my career is going to be shaped more by Walt Disney than anything else,? he says.
His interest in Disney is symbolic of the shift in his attention and efforts toward culture and away from politics. He had a realization: ?Culture is the lead. That?s the dog. The news is the tail.?
He pulls out a piece of early publicity on Disneyland, points to a paragraph, and reads aloud. ?Disneyland will be based upon and dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America and it will be uniquely equipped to dramatize these dreams and facts and send them forth as a source of courage and inspiration to all the world.? Beck, known to burst into tears at a moment?s notice, looks like he might do so right now. ?That?s what we?re gonna do,? he declares. ?That?s how I intend on impacting culture. To do that.?
Conservative media icon Glenn Beck recently spent time with National Review?s Eliana Johnson, and their time together has led to a revealing profile of a man who is changing his focus little by little from tackling hard news to impacting culture.
Beck shared the inspiration for his move toward culture: none other than Walt Disney.
The item that most inspires him right now is a prospectus of Disney World, hand-colored by Walt Disney himself, which he has propped against a window ? or at least, a photocopy of it. He keeps the real item, which he won at an auction three years ago, at his home in Dallas. ?I?m now the owner of every book written on Walt Disney in any language,? he says. He doesn?t know exactly how many that is. A year ago, he distributed a biography of Disney to the members of his staff. ?I said when I left Fox that this half of my career is going to be shaped more by Walt Disney than anything else,? he says.
His interest in Disney is symbolic of the shift in his attention and efforts toward culture and away from politics. He had a realization: ?Culture is the lead. That?s the dog. The news is the tail.?
He pulls out a piece of early publicity on Disneyland, points to a paragraph, and reads aloud. ?Disneyland will be based upon and dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America and it will be uniquely equipped to dramatize these dreams and facts and send them forth as a source of courage and inspiration to all the world.? Beck, known to burst into tears at a moment?s notice, looks like he might do so right now. ?That?s what we?re gonna do,? he declares. ?That?s how I intend on impacting culture. To do that.?
