Actual journalists have been pointing out the conflict of interest inherent in Glenn Beck’s fearmongering about the economy. Beck likes to say that only gold will be worth anything after Obama rounds up all the white people and the Dollar is overrun by the Peso. Oh, and by the way, he adds during a commercial break, the good people at Goldline are standing by to sell you some….gold. Smarmy.
NewsBusters, a site dedicated to catering to conservative persecution fantasies, today criticized journalists for pointing out that Glenn Beck should probably not be pimping his product during his show.
In fact, gold is a great investment, NB says:
Gold has been a highly valued commodity going at least as far back as the ancient Egyptian culture in 2600 BC. But now, with economic instability and uncertainty over the health of major global currencies, the demand for gold has risen as a store of value and a hedge against inflation.
Over the past 12 months, the price of gold has gone up dramatically – up 25 percent from July 2009 (from $929 per ounce to $1,163 per ounce, after reaching a high of $1,250 per ounce). That has outperformed the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) on a percentage basis.
Oh, by the way, NewsBusters, which bills itself as a place dedicated to keeping the media honest, sells ads on its site. Here’s one that was featured in the middle of its defense of (i) gold as an investment and (ii) Glenn Beck’s promotion of gold as an investment, despite the fact that Beck is sponsored by a gold company:
Of course, Brent Bozell probably has a flag lapel pin, so it’s ok.
