Blaze Media is an American conservative media company founded in December 2018 by a merger between TheBlaze, a pay television network founded by Glenn Beck, with Conservative Review, a website founded by talk radio personality Mark Levin. The company's co-presidents are Tyler Cardon and Gaston Mooney.^[1] It is based in Irving, Texas, where it has studios and offices, as well as in Houston, Texas, and Los Angeles, California.

Beck founded Mercury Radio Arts in 2002, naming it after the Orson Welles seminal Mercury Theatre, which produced live theatrical broadcasts during the 1930s. The company produces all of Beck's productions, including his eponymous radio show, books, and live stage shows, and his official website.^[2][3]

On August 31, 2010, three days after his Restoring Honor rally at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C., Beck launched the TheBlaze website, describing it as an alternative to "mainstream media outlets", which he said are "distorting facts to fit rigid agendas," he said TheBlaze will feature "breaking news, original reporting, insightful opinions, and engaging videos about the stories that matter most" and that "we will examine our culture, deal with matters of faith and family, and we won't be afraid of a history lesson."^[4] The site was reportedly modeled after The Huffington Post, and has been compared accordingly by Matt DeLong of the Washington Post and Steve Krakauer of Mediaite.^[5] TheBlaze headquarters is located in Irving, Texas, at the Mercury Studios (formerly the Studios at Las Colinas).^[6][7]

Beck announced the creation of an online-only network that would replace Insider Extreme as a result of his Fox News departure on June 7, 2011. On September 12, 2011, Beck launched GBTV (Glenn Beck TV) as an exclusive internet streaming network, produced and operated by Mercury Radio Arts. GBTV would air a television adaptation of his radio show, his television show, and other original programming, including Real News from TheBlaze, a nightly news program hosted by former CNN personality Amy Holmes.^[8] On June 18, 2012, Mercury Radio Arts announced the consolidation of all of its outlets under the "TheBlaze" brand, thus renaming the internet television station from GBTV to TheBlaze.^[9]

In 2012, Dish Network placed TheBlaze on its channel lineup. As a result of the "Get TheBlaze" campaign (a movement led by supporters to have other supporters call their cable or satellite television provider and ask them to carry the channel), several smaller, regional cable operators also have recently picked up TheBlaze—including Cablevision (also known as Optimum TV – Channel 828), a major cable provider in the New York metropolitan area.^[10][11]

Betsy Morgan was named CEO of TheBlaze on December 9, 2014, replacing Chris Balfe, who had been CEO since the beginning. Morgan left the company on in June 2015.^[12] Chief Revenue Officer Kraig Kitchin replaced Morgan until he resigned in January 2016, taking the position of Interim Head of Sales and being replaced by Stewart Padveen, a digital startup entrepreneur, who resigned in February 2017. Beck took over as CEO of the company in May 2017.^[13]

In November 2015, Beck sent an open letter to the Republican National Convention, requesting permission for TheBlaze to host a Republican presidential debate; this offer was not accepted.^[14][15]

On August 31, 2017, TheBlaze laid off nearly 60 employees, which cut its personnel by almost 30%.^[16]

On December 28, 2018 Verizon Fios removed TheBlaze from its lineup.^[17]

On December 3, 2018, TheBlaze's television arm merged with CRTV, the subscription video arm of Conservative Review. The merged entity, named Blaze Media, retained TheBlaze's channel slot and incorporated one of CRTV's programs into the channel's schedule (The Steve Deace Show).

Gavin McInnes, the co-founder of Vice Media and Vice magazine,^[18][19] founder of the Proud Boys^[20], was expected to host his programs Get Off My Lawn and CRTV Tonight for the new company, whose co-president, Gaston Mooney, called McInnes "a comedian and provocateur, one of the many varied voices and viewpoints on Blaze Media platforms." Less than a week after the merger, however, it was announced that McInnes was no longer associated with Blaze Media, with no details given as to why.^[21][22]

Blaze Media has programs such as Pat Gray Unleashed, The Glenn Beck Program (stylized glenn RADIO on TV), The Steve Deace Show, Glenn TV, The News And Why It Matters, The Wonderful World of Stu and The Glenn Beck Podcast.

TheBlaze Radio Network was launched on September 5, 2012 and is available for free online via the company's website, iOS and Android apps, and the iHeartRadio app. TheBlaze Radio Network is the exclusive home of conservative talk-show host Pat Gray.

TheBlaze website launched on August 26, 2010. According to Beck, the site took two months to design.^[4] At launch, the site's chief editor was Scott Baker, with its associate editor-video producer Pam Key and with Jon Seidl and Meredith Jessup as reporters. Key is known for her blog, Naked Emperor News: Smoking Gun Video and Images. Baker is a former Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, broadcast journalist who previously worked at The Huffington Post and Breitbart TV. Seidl, of the Manhattan Institute, previously worked at the American Spectator. Jessup previously worked at Townhall.com. Journalists joining TheBlaze later included S. E. Cupp and David Harsanyi.

On its opening morning, the site featured advertisements for Dick Armey's new book and for Goldline International,^[4] and its lead story dealt with allegations that Education Secretary Arne Duncan encouraged Education Department employees to attend Al Sharpton's counter-rally in Washington, which took place on the same day as the Restoring Honor rally and at which Duncan spoke.^[25] Another story, criticizing Feisal Abdul Rauf, featured the headline "Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf, the man behind the Ground Zero mosque, claims to be a Jew, Christian, and a Muslim. But some say that's impossible."^[26]

In January 2011, Betsy Morgan became president and Kraig Kitchin director of sales. Morgan had helmed the Huffington Post until 2009. Kitchin had formerly been the president of Premier Radio.^[27]

In March 2011, the site was noted for its critique of James O'Keefe's NPR sting video.^[28]

Visits to the website declined from 21.5 million unique visitors in March 2014 to 8 million in February 2017.^[29]

Mercury Ink is a co-publishing deal with Simon & Schuster and was founded by Glenn Beck in 2011 as the publishing imprint of Mercury Radio Arts.^[30] Started in 2011, Mercury Ink publishes adult and young adult novels and non-fiction titles. Including books written by Glenn Beck, authors signed to Mercury Ink include New York Times best seller Richard Paul Evans.

TheBlaze (entitled Fusion prior to September 2012) was a monthly news magazine published by Mercury Radio Arts and TheBlaze in New York City and circulated throughout the United States. Its former title, Fusion, was taken from Beck's talk radio program's slogan, "The Fusion of Entertainment and Enlightenment." The editor-in-chief was Scott Baker.^[31] The magazine was sixteen pages and was published monthly except for February and August. It was available digitally and in print.^[32] The last edition of TheBlaze magazine was published in April 2015.