As the resurgence of conservative media — sparked by President Donald Trump's election — continues in 2017, it's worth asking:
What happened to TheBlaze?
Well, on Thursday, Glenn Beck asked the same question as he announced "with a heavy heart" that his conservative website TheBlaze has undergone massive layoffs. Beck wrote a note, in which he mainly sought pity, as he discussed how difficult it was for him to shed more than a combined 20 percent of his employees from TheBlaze as well as his production company, Mercury Radio Arts.
"We are losing a lot of talented and committed colleagues, who are some of the best human beings I know — some have been friends of mine for 30 years," Beck wrote, adding that it's been one of the toughest years of his life. "We are not PBS. No government institution is going to write us a giant check."
The total number of employees affected is around 50, according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter.
"The structural challenges facing media companies today are real; but, when someone — anyone — tells me that something can’t be done, it only makes me more determined to prove them wrong," he continued.
Beck said that TheBlaze was started for one purpose, which was "to change the world for the better."
TheBlaze was primarily thrown into the spotlight because of their former conservative provocateur host of the segment "Final Thoughts," Tomi Lahren. But she was fired in March after she opened up about her views on abortion, and recently fulfilled her destiny by landing a role as a contributor to Fox News. Beck, on the other hand, also a former Fox News host, has deeply struggled to keep his media company afloat.
"I’m proud of the success that we’ve had, but it’s not nearly enough. We can do more. We can do better. Everything we’ve been working on for the past six months begins now," Beck wrote.
One former employee, Eddie Scarry, told The Daily Caller that Beck was "professionally bipolar" and that he's "not surprised his [Beck's] commitment to the site as a legitimate news operation didn’t last."
"In the early days, it was exciting. It felt like we were committed to doing honest journalism and building something unique. But over time things changed. It ended up being a hellish place to work," another employee said. "Overpaid executives took advantage of younger writers while ignoring all advice given to them about how to reinvigorate the company. It’s not surprising to see how things have turned out."
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