The Media Mob has learned that conservative radio and television host Glenn Beck has just finished signing a huge new two-book deal with Simon & Schuster imprint Threshold Editions. According to a source with knowledge of the deal, the agreement will net Mr. Beck, the host of Headline News' "Glenn Beck," approximately $3 million. The initial print run will be a whopping 750,000 copies.

This past fall, Threshold Editions published Mr. Beck's "An Inconvenient Book," which immediately debuted at #1 on the New York Times bestseller list.  read more »

In what might someday be studied in public-relations classes as an example of why not to make public statements when you're still suffering from the aftermath of a bad hospitalization and apparently shaking off a heavy dose of painkillers, CNN Headline News star Glenn Beck has just released a video on YouTube.

In the vid, Mr. Beck, unshaven and emotionally on edge, speaks directly to the camera for more than seven long minutes about his recent surgery (for what? it's unclear), how it went awry, and how he was left on the brink of suicide as a result. Mr. Beck, while tearing up at times, called the weekend hospitalization "one of the darkest moments" of his life, spoke of "drug-induced" visions, and said the experience could have been a scene from the horror movie Saw.  read more »

"An Inconvenient Book", the recently published tome by CNN's Glenn Beck, will soon premier as the # 1 nonfiction hardback on the New York Times Best Seller list, TV Newser reports today.

According to a Media Mob source, Mr. Beck learned of the good news yesterday evening.

At the time, Mr. Beck was at his Headline News studio taping an interview. In between segments, staffers rushed on set to put him on the phone with a messenger bearing the news of his forthcoming #1 ranking. Cue much hugging and backslapping.

Afterwards, according to our source, Mr. Beck (a former alcoholic who has been sober for many years) called his wife, said he'd be home soon, and told her they'd celebrate by drinking water out of champagne glasses.

According to The New York Times, CNN Headline News host Glenn Beck is about to watch his net worth skyrocket—thanks to his continued popularity in talk radio.

"Premiere Radio Networks, a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications, is expected to announce today that it is extending Mr. Beck's contract," the paper reported today. "Two sources with knowledge of the deal said it was valued at $50 million over five years, through a combination of salary and profit-sharing from syndication."

At the same time, Mr. Beck is continuing to enjoy success in television. Last week, Ken Jautz of CNN Headline News told TVNewser that Mr. Beck's show had its best month ever in October, and is up 50 percent in year-to-date viewers.As of tonight, Mr. Beck will face fresh competition from within his own network when CNN moves Lou Dobbs Tonight, CNN's second highest rated show, to 7 PM.  read more »

After receiving some attention from the editorial boards of The New York Times and New York Post, Jonathan Tasini finds out from The Huffington Post why he has seen practically no love from his fellow travelers in MoveOn.org. Executive Director Eli Pariser says that they follow the lead of their members and "we've heard almost nothing from MoveOn members on Tasini."

"I think you well know that Mrs. McFarland is taking a few days off to deal with a family crisis, but that doesn't make you the Republican candidate for Senate"