'Philly sucks,' says Beck, in a Philly-less on-air snit

There was a time when Glenn Beck, king of all right-wing media, seemed to have a soft spot in his heart for Philadelphia, the metropolis where he lived and worked in the early to mid-2000s as he became the nation's No. 3 radio host.

But that was before the icon of the tea-party movement got dumped by his longtime Philadelphia home, WPHT (1210-AM), which this week moved to a more local format and yanked Beck off the local airwaves.

Apparently, hell has no fury like a radio talker scorned.

In just his second day off the air here, Beck whaled on the City of Brotherly Love for his national radio audience, suggesting that it's not safe to walk near Independence Hall at 6 p.m., and stating that "Philadelphia is not a place you want to be."

The rant was triggered during a discussion of yesterday's police and fire layoffs across the Delaware River in Camden, when Beck veered off to talk about what he called "the killing streets around Independence Hall."

Beck's radio co-hosts, Pat Gray and longtime producer, Stu Burguiere, jumped in with a mild defense of the city, with Burguiere - who worked here with Beck - stating that crime is high in "areas north of the city" but that Center City areas near Independence Hall are safe for dining and culture.

"I'm going to put you on a hidden cam and we're going to have you go downtown 6, 7 o'clock at night and walk around," Beck told Burguiere, and he later described a common nighttime activity in the city as "shootings."

"Well, maybe a couple of stabbings," Burguiere chuckled.

"Don't listen to Stu," Beck said. "Philadelphia sucks."

To hear the complete audio of Beck online, find the link on the Attytood blog on Philly.com at bit.ly/e9l4eI.