Political Penndit | The problem with bending it like Beck

It’s no secret that Glenn Beck dislikes the Ivy League. Conservative news commentators frequently rail on the universities it comprises as being bastions of the liberal elitism that is ruining America. But who knew that Beck has a special hatred for Penn?

In an attack on Time columnist and 1968 Penn alumnus Joe Klein that is now infamous within the University community, Beck conversed with himself on his cable news show in alternating redneck and snobbish affectations: “Not only did Joe attend an Ivy League school, the Univer — wait a minute. Is that right? The University of Pennsylvania? That’s not an Ivy League school. That’s the trailer trash of Ivy League schools. You really think so? It’s like a double-wide.”

(A note to Beck: Perhaps Penn’s reputation was different when you were applying to college, but it is now undoubtedly one of the best and most reputed universities in the world, tied for fourth place in U.S. News & World Report’s 2010 ranking of national universities.)

The Penn community joins the growing list of people Beck has deliberately and unnecessarily tried to offend with his remarks. He also recently claimed that the sacred Ganges River in India “sounds like a disease” and lost dozens of advertisers for his show when he accused President Barack Obama of being a racist. Beck, known for his polarizing ideas and subversive style, clearly isn’t afraid to insult anyone at all.

But despite the controversy he causes, Beck continues to be a national darling. A Harris poll found Beck to be the second most favorite television personality in America, behind only the infallible Oprah Winfrey. A major reason that so many people love his show is that he reflects their own fears and concerns. That his quick rise in popularity coincided with the election of Obama, whose policies he and his viewers generally detest, is no coincidence.

“We have an echo chamber,” said communication professor Joseph Cappella. “In the face of a huge and overwhelming set of sources of news — a deluge of informational sources — people are exposing themselves to sources of news that are compatible with their a priori views.”

Beck’s show on Fox News is representative of a growing trend toward opinion journalism in the news industry, which necessitates partisanship and often leads to contention. And all this apparently makes for great television. Cable news ratings are through the roof. Data collected by Nielsen Media Research found that the total median audience for CNN, Fox News and MSNBC grew by 35 percent to 3.64 million in 2008, the highest it had been at the time.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with the increasing viewership of opinion journalism, which provides an entertaining look at the day’s top stories. The problem arises when viewers get the majority of their news from these commentators’ opinions. Getting only one side of the story, especially one that confirms the viewer’s presupposed views, breeds ignorance and narrow-mindedness. Hearing nothing but Beck’s claims that “almost everyone who does believe in global warming is a socialist” or Keith Olbermann’s characterization of Massachusetts Senator-elect Scott Brown as an “irresponsible, homophobic, racist, reactionary” politician is a dangerous thing indeed.

Opinion journalism has its merits if its viewers know that it is just that — a news commentator’s personal point of view. “They clearly are presenting their opinions on the news,” Cappella said. “And it can be abrasive if you’re the subject of the commentary.”

I have to admit, I did find Beck’s insult toward Penn abrasive. But he is entitled to his opinion, just as I am entitled to mine: that Beck is dumbing down the national political conversation, that he is creating rifts among the American people and that if he has the right to attack Penn, then I have the right to defend it. Prameet Kumar is a Wharton sophomore from New York. His e-mail address is kumar@dailypennsylvanian.com. Political Penndit appears on Wednesdays.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.