UPS Stores Pull Ads from Glenn Beck

Thirty-three advertisers have asked Fox News to not air their advertisements on Glenn Beck's commentary show. Beck sparked considerable controversy when he called President Barack Obama a racist who had "a deep seated hatred for white people." President Obama's father was black while his mother was white. He was raised by his mother and his maternal grandparents.

Shortly after, firms such as Wal-Mart, Clorox, Sprint and The UPS Stores announced that they did not want to be associatied with such inflammatory speech. But Beck's rhetoric brings in the viewers. According to Nielsen Media Research, his show averaged 2.4 million viewers as he criticized a health care proposal from the House of Representatives.

"This is a good illustration of that conundrum," said Rich Hallabran, spokesman for UPS Stores, which he said has temporarily halted buying ads on Fox News Channel as a whole....

UPS' Hallabran said the decision to pull commercials "should not be interpreted as we are permanently withdrawing our advertising from Fox." He said the company wants to reach viewers with a wide spectrum of opinions. Except for UPS Stores, there's no evidence that any advertisers who say they don't want to be on Beck's show are leaving Fox. Network spokeswoman Irena Briganti said the companies have simply requested the ads be moved elsewhere and that Fox hasn't lost any revenue. - AP