With national unemployment at record levels, an economy seemingly reluctant to get out of first gear, and experts struggling to solve a foreclosure crisis, it may come as no surprise that Americans are watching more television. According to the Nielsen Company, we’re watching a lot more TV than we used to. Nielsen collects viewer data and television ratings, and says that the average American now watches about 34 hours of television on any given week.

The Saturday night resignation of White House green jobs advisor Van Jones is as much a story of politics as it is about cable television, as well as the drive and magnetism of Fox News talk show host Glenn Beck. Beck's show on Fox News draws around 3 million viewers a night, and it was his targeting of Van Jones that lead to Jones’ resignation.

While President Obama seems to be struggling to get his message across, Glenn Beck has no problem being heard loud and clear. To understand Glenn Beck's popularity, we speak to Michael Harrison, the publisher of Talkers Magazine, the leading trade publication for the talking-head set, along with Robert Thompson, professor of Television, Radio and Film at Syracuse University.