Glenn Beck really, really wants to be taken seriously as a trusted source of information. On his radio show today, he asserted that his new Web venture, GBTV, “will be the place that you will get the information that no one else is brave enough to give you. We will tell you the truth. We're not going to take stupid risks. We're not going to say things that we can't prove. But we will say everything that is provable that needs to be said. To hell with political correctness.”

Beck's rhetoric about his upcoming rally in Israel, Restoring Courage, has been even more grave. He has told his radio audience that if they participate, “it will change the direction of the world,” and that the rally could help show Israel that “the gas chambers won't happen again.”

It's awfully hard to reconcile these efforts at seriousness with all the time Beck and his radio crew spent today sniggering over an interview of Rep. Barney Frank on MSNBC. “He cut a big ol' fart loose right on the air,” Beck declared.

Beck played the audio clip over and over -- six times in one five-minute segment alone -- and several times more later in the show, each time prompting more giggling from Beck and crew.

“Now, you might think that we're above this, but clearly we're not,” Beck said. Executive producer Stu Burguiere replied, “Shockingly, neither is our audience. It's the number one story now on TheBlaze.com.” Co-host Pat Gray added, “I don't think any human alive is above this. This is just good fun.”

Beck may not be the first person to succumb to juvenile humor, but these morning-zoo radio antics clash badly with Beck's burning desire to be respected as a source of information.