COMMENTARY: Glenn Beck Must Use Discretion in His News Analysis

Fox News commentator Glenn Beck angered many Jews this past week for broadcasting that billionaire George Soros helped Nazis exterminate Jews during World War II.

Soros, who is now an atheist, was born of Jewish parents in Hungary; however, Soros' father convinced a Christian in Hungary to make Soros his godson, so that Soros could pretend to be a Christian in Nazi Hungary, and thus avoid persecution.

Beck said on the Fox TV news channel that at the age of 13, "George Soros used to go around with this anti-Semite and deliver papers to the Jews and confiscate their property... Here's a Jewish boy helping send Jews to death camps."

Beck's comments drew condemnation from Holocaust survivors and Jewish groups, who described them as offensive and ignorant.

The fact is that Beck's comments are in poor taste and unprofessional for the responsible dissemination or even analysis of news. In the first place, Beck is describing the actions of a 13-year-old child, not an adult. At that age, Soros was only doing what he was told to do by his guardian.

Beck also described Soros as a "puppet master" who is "notorious for collapsing economies and regimes all around the world." Although it makes a strong accusation against Soros, this comment is not as offensive as Beck's Holocaust comment, since Beck is referring to an adult in this situation.

Nonetheless, Beck had better have substantial information to support this comment, or Fox News could be subject to a multimillion dollar slander lawsuit by Soros, since this statement appears to be defaming Soros' character.

Beck, then, needs to "fine tune" his news analysis. He must not criticize a child who is only doing what he has been told to do by his guardian. Moreover, Beck must have valid proof of truth if his comments may be defaming an individual.

In the final analysis, Beck must use discretion and ensure that he has concrete evidence to back up what he says when he criticizes an individual's actions. Otherwise, Beck would be doing an injustice to news broadcasting, in addition to subjecting the Fox News network to a Herculean slanderous lawsuit.