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Yet, during talks with Wiley & Sons for possible book ideas, Zaitchik settled on one that was strangely foreign to him: an in-depth investigation on the rise of Fox News and conservative talk radio megastar Glenn Beck. Because Beck was just on his way to becoming a media sensation, Zatichik first gauged reader interest with an article for AlterNet.org, asking, "Is Glenn Beck the Orson Welles of Our Time?" Zaitchik recalled, "I wasn't expecting much response, but the piece went gangbusters; it was the most popular article on the site for the week, had the most forwards, etc. I sent Wiley the numbers, and my editor, Eric Nelson, said, 'Let's do this.'" A three-part series for Salon followed, and now the forthcoming tome Common Nonsense: Glenn Beck and the Triumph of Ignorance (Wiley, May 2010) promises to be the first serious examination of the burgeoning media titan and his roots.
Zaitchik spoke with mediabistro.com about convincing Beck's colleagues and friends to open up on the record, which controversial subject he's tackling next, and how someone who has primarily covered foreign subjects suddenly found himself neck-deep in a project that -- for good or ill -- is entirely American....
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