Beck goes home to contoversy , protest : Key to city awaits

by smkovalinsky | September 26, 2009 at 01:11 pm

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Glenn Beck will be going back to Washington state, to be given the key to the city of his hometown, Mount Vernon, by Mayor Bud Norris.

Amid growing controversy, as Democratic groups such as "Take Back the Media" and 16,000 petition signers, who do not want Beck given the key gather with media, Beck is expected to be his cheerful self.

Even as he is deemed a hate monger and bigot, and an inciter of the right, Beck has managed to attract his yes-men.

Mayor Norris, reversing an earlier decision to not allow any media inside the town hall where Beck will be honored, has set guidelines for journalist and media.

Protests big and small are in the works to give the divisive conservative TV host a less than a warm welcome to his hometown Saturday. The Young Democrats of Skagit County, Reclaim the Media and a local radio host are behind the bigger ones, with users on Facebook informally planning some more (here and here.
Regional media have already made much of a petition circulating around the city against the mayor's decision to honor Beck, whose aggressive push on conservative positions recently put him on the cover of Time. About 16,000 thousand people are said to have signed the document.

"I'd be embarrassed to have press too," said Twitter user blueben.

But professional media credentials are hardly a prerequisite to coverage these days, with the Web ablaze with opportunities to send out pictures, videos and messages from something as portable as a cell phone.

"No matter," said Twitter user longttran in response to news that no press would be allowed at the event. "We can tweet about it."

Maybe from the protests, but what about from inside the event? I called Mayor Norris' office to ask whether the 680 event ticket holders would be allowed to bring in their cell phones.

Source: blog.seattlepi.com