Public image of Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
Over the years, there have been several issues highlighted in American political commentator Bill O'Reilly's print and broadcast work. He has drawn criticism from others who include Al Franken, Jon Stewart, Keith Olbermann, Media Matters for America, David Letterman, and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, usually in response to criticism by him or disputes of factual accuracy.
Indiana University study
On May 2, 2007, researchers from the Indiana University Media Relations Department published the findings of a study that analyzed the "Talking Points Memo", a commentary piece which opens most O'Reilly Factor broadcasts. Using analysis techniques developed in the 1930's by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis, O'Reilly's comments and style were compared to a 1939 study of Father Charles Coughlin. Among the conclusions were that O'Reilly used propaganda far more often than Coughlin, and that he was three times more likely to be a "name caller." The report also concluded that "Our results show a consistent pattern of O'Reilly casting non-Americans in a negative light. Both illegal aliens and foreigners were constructed as physical threats to the public and never featured in the role of victim or hero."[1][2]
O'Reilly criticized the study stating, "The terms 'conservative,' 'liberal,' 'left,' 'right,' 'progressive,' 'traditional' or 'centrist' were treated as name-calling if they were associated with a problem or social ill." The study's authors responded that O'Reilly was incorrect and that "how we counted name-calling could be cleared up by reading the study." They continued, "We did not count 'liberal, conservative, centrist' as name-calling unless they were linked to a derogatory qualifier. O'Reilly's reference to "Kool-Aid left" is an example of what we counted as name-calling. Or is the reference to folks of a particular political persuasion as a cult on a suicide mission fair and balanced reporting?"[3] O'Reilly also said that Indiana University has received millions of dollars from George Soros' Open Society Institute.[4] The authors responded that they had received no funding at all, including from Soros, for the study.[3]
Fox News producer Ron Mitchell also wrote an op-ed criticizing the study. He echoed O'Reilly's charge that too many terms were counted as name-calling and pointed to "buried headline" as an example. He also accused the authors of seeking to manipulate their research to fit a predetermined outcome. Mitchell argued that by using tools developed for examining propaganda, the researchers presupposed that O'Reilly propagandized.[5] He also pointed to a section in which the authors describe making changes to their "coding instrument" because the first attempts generated "unacceptably low scores." The authors responded that their study had been extensively vetted through two rounds of anonymous peer review prior to publication. They also pointed out that the methodology that Mitchell criticized was accepted scientific practice that is put in place to prevent bias, not to create it.[3] Specifically, a Media Matters response piece said that Mitchell misunderstood what a "coding instrument" is. The methodology called for individual researchers ("coders") to analyze broadcasts and code their findings into a database. The mention of "unacceptably low scores" did not mean that initial methods found too few instances of O'Reilly calling names; instead, it referred to "unacceptably low" consistency between coders analyzing the same data.[6]
Critics and rivals
O'Reilly has been involved in numerous controversies and rivalries with various people and organizations. Some of the more notable are Media Matters for America, Al Franken, and Keith Olbermann.
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America describes itself as a politically progressive, web-based, non-profit organization that reports and criticizes what it describes as "conservative misinformation in the U.S. media."[7] O'Reilly is often the subject of Media Matters' online reports. O'Reilly has referred to Media Matters as "smear merchants," and "the most vile, despicable human beings on the planet," and has expressed distaste for the site because he says that it is funded by George Soros.[8] Media Matters maintains that it has never received funding from Soros "either directly or through another organization."[9] Media Matters founder David Brock says that he has repeatedly requested that O'Reilly debate him on O'Reilly's program and that O'Reilly has refused. Media Matters also says that O’Reilly has not been able to specifically challenge the accuracy of Media Matters’s reporting.[10]
FAIR's Peter Hart
O'Reilly was one of the subjects of the 2004 documentary Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism. In the documentary, Peter Hart (a media analyst for the progressive Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) alleges that The O'Reilly Factor is a "perfect example" of what is wrong with Fox News Channel, believing that the Republican Party gets favored treatment over the Democratic Party. [11]
Feuds with other media personalities
Al Franken
Franken book controversy
Al Franken's 2003 book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look At the Right included a picture of O'Reilly on the cover and a chapter devoted to him inside. In his book, Franken accused O'Reilly not only of distorting facts to serve conservative politics, but also of distorting facts to improve his public image. The two men participated in a panel discussion at the 2003 BookExpoAmerica (which was televised on C-SPAN). Franken described O'Reilly's denial of erroneous statements regarding receiving two Peabody Awards. After Franken spoke, the two men argued.
Prior to their Book TV appearances, Fox News sued Franken for trademark infringement over the use of the phrase "fair and balanced" in the book's title. O'Reilly has generally said that he was not involved in the lawsuit. In an interview with Time, O'Reilly was asked if he "regrets pushing the lawsuit against Al Franken", to which he replied, "Not at all."[12] When the case reached court, the presiding judge denied Fox's request for injunctive relief and described the case as "wholly without merit". Fox then dropped the suit. O'Reilly later said he had considered personally suing Franken for defamation but was told that, as a public person, the standard of proof would be too high to sustain a lawsuit.
Selective Editing
In an Air America broadcast on the Sundance Channel, Franken criticized O'Reilly for selectively and misleadingly editing a June 5, 2005 interview of Senator Joseph Biden by George Stephanopoulos. In the interview Biden proposed the submission of legislation for an independent commission to look into wrongdoing in the U.S. Army's prison system at Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.[13] When O'Reilly analyzed the same interview on The Factor, the broadcast edited out all references Biden made to appointing an independent commission and only presented Biden's call to shut down Guantanamo Bay. O'Reilly accused Biden of misusing the prison abuse story and then presented the missing part of Biden's remarks as his own opinion: "The Bush administration should set up an independent commission to investigate American detainee policy across the board. The president must take the offensive on this, or else the country's image will continue to suffer and the jihadists and their enablers will win another victory." Franken criticized this as a misrepresentation by O'Reilly.[14]
Peabody Award
O'Reilly incorrectly claimed at a February 10, 2001 speech at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach, Florida, that Inside Edition, a show he had previously anchored, had won a Peabody Award. After watching an airing of the speech a couple weeks later on C-SPAN, Franken performed a search on LexisNexis and found three previous occasions dating back to August 30, 1999 where O'Reilly had repeated the incorrect claim. On at least one occasion, O'Reilly used the first-person pronoun "we" and said the show won (plural) "Peabody Awards".[15][16] Franken called O'Reilly for a statement and O'Reilly admitted he had made an error, correcting himself and stating that the show had won a George Polk Award and not a Peabody.[17][18] Further research that Franken documented in his book Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them reveals that the Polk award was given one year after O'Reilly's tenure at Inside Edition and for work O'Reilly had not been involved with.[17][19]
Franken called Lloyd Grove, a reporter for The Washington Post, who called O'Reilly and asked him about his statements. O'Reilly said, "So I got mixed up between a Peabody Award and a Polk Award". Grove published the story on March 1 2001 in his column "The Reliable Source".[20]
Keith Olbermann
Olbermann's show Countdown on MSNBC, which airs opposite The O'Reilly Factor, is highly critical of O'Reilly. Olbermann frequently targets O'Reilly in the "Worst Persons in the World" segment of the program. On Countdown, Olbermann had also previously initiated an unsuccessful campaign to "Save the Tapes", referring to the rumor that there exist tapes of O'Reilly making lurid phone sex calls to Andrea Mackris, a former producer of his show. Mackris sued O'Reilly for sexual harassment and the suit was settled out of court. O'Reilly also sued Mackris for attempted extortion, but dropped the case when her suit was settled. Olbermann often references the lawsuit on Countdown.
Disputes of factual accuracy
The Malmedy massacre controversy
On Oct 03, 2005, retired four-star general Wesley Clark was a guest on O'Reilly's program - The O'Reilly Factor. A topic of debate on the program was a ruling regarding the potential release of more photos from the infamous Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. According to Keith Olbermann "Clark defended the release of the additional Abu Ghraib photos saying we needed to know what happened." While debating with General Clark, O'Reilly apparently misunderstood a historical fact of World War II when he said "General, you need to look at the Malmedy massacre in World War II and the 82nd Airborne that did it." This statement suggests that O'Reilly erroneously believed that American troops were responsible for a massacre of German troops in the town of Malmedy Belgium during World War II. In reality, it was German troops responsible for the massacre of 84 American soldiers in Malmedy. His inaccuracy did not go unnoticed or unchecked but was largely considered an honest mistake. On Tuesday May 30, 2006, General Wesley Clark again appeared on the show. While discussing "the apparent murder of Iraqi civilians in Haditha", O'Reilly once again incorrectly referred to the Malmedy massacre, stating "In Malmedy, as you know, US forces captured SS forces, who had their hands in the air and they were unarmed and they shot them down. You know that. That's on the record; [it's] been documented." The next day, on May 31, 2006, O'Reilly addressed a viewer email regarding the inaccuracy. As reported on The O'Reilly Factor, the email came from a Fort Worth Texas viewer named Donn Caldwell and stated: "Bill, you mentioned Malmedy as the site of an American massacre during Word War II. It was the other way around, the SS shot down U.S. prisoners." O' Reilly responded to this by saying: "In the heat of the debate with General Clark my statement wasn't clear enough Mr. Caldwell. After Malmedy, some German captives were executed by American troops." According to Olbermann "Fox washed it's transcript of O'Reilly's remarks Tuesday" referring to the line "In Normandy, as you know, US forces captured SS forces" when the video clearly shows that O'Reilly said "Malmedy" rather than "Normandy."
This second instance of O'Reilly misstating the facts of the massacre, combined with his denial of doing so and the apparent cover up in the transcript by Fox News prompted a harsh response on the June 01, 2006 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann.[21] Countdown showed video clips of O'Reilly making these incorrect statements from the October 3rd and May 30th editions of The O'Reilly Factor and showed the clip of O'Reilly addressing the viewer email the following day. Olbermann lambasted O'Reilly for refusing to accept responsibility and distorting the truth, calling him a "false patriot who would rather be loud than right." He also compared the editing of the transcript to George Orwell's 1984. After the airing, Fox News corrected the afore-mentioned transcript on Friday, June 2nd which was noted in a follow up report on Countdown with Keith Olbermann the following Monday[22]. The Media Matters for America website[23] also posted a report detailing the correction of the transcript that same day.
Boycott of French goods
In March 2003, O'Reilly called for a boycott of French products and services sold in the United States, due to President Jacques Chirac's stance on the 2003 invasion of Iraq.[24] In April 27 2004; O'Reilly claimed “they’ve lost billions of dollars in France” as a direct result of his boycott, referring to "The Paris Business Review" as his source, a publication that does not exist. O'Reilly then said about two months later that the boycott caused France to lose $138 million in business compared to the previous year.[25][26]
The CBC and Media Matters for America have stated that French exports to the US increased during the period of O'Reilly's boycott, citing U.S. Census Bureau figures.[27][28][29]
O'Reilly announced he was ending the boycott upon the election of Nicolas Sarkozy as French President.[30]
Controversy about O'Reilly's childhood home and upbringing
O'Reilly has long said that his inspiration for speaking up for average Americans, or what he calls "the folks", are his working-class roots. He has pointed to his boyhood home in lower-middle-class Levittown, New York as a credential. In an interview with The Washington Post, O'Reilly's mother said that her family lived in Westbury,[31] which is a few miles from Levittown. Citing this interview, Al Franken, Michael Kinsley, and others have accused O'Reilly of distorting his background to create a more working-class image.
O'Reilly has countered that The Washington Post misquoted his mother,[32] and he said his mother still lives in his childhood home. O'Reilly placed a copy of the house's mortgage, which shows a Levittown postal address, on his website.
The Washington Post confirms that the O'Reilly family home was built by William Levitt, so the discrepancy arises from the redrawing of political boundaries. Levittown was redrawn into a squarish shape[33] to conform with the 11756 ZIP code. Zip codes were introduced in 1963. After this time the home was located in Westbury. On a 2005 episode of The Al Franken Show, Franken invited a Long Island historian onto the show, and she said that O'Reilly's characterization of the geography was generally accurate, and the house could fairly be described as having been in both Westbury and Levittown. She also said that O'Reilly's neighborhood was not the "hardscrabble" environment he suggested it was.[34]
O'Reilly has also said, "You don't come from any lower than I came from on an economic scale"[35] and that his father "never earned more than $35,000 a year in his life." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting has calculated that adjusted for inflation, $35,000 in 1978 would be worth over $90,000 in 2001 dollars.[15] O'Reilly has retorted that his father's $35,000 income only came at the end of his long career, at which point O'Reilly would have been long independent of his parents. [36]
Disputed claims involving the "War on Christmas"
Media Matters for America has criticized what O'Reilly calls the "War on Christmas." Media Matters posted several reports on their website with links to news articles from Michigan’s WNEM, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,[37] and the Washington Post,[38] as well as one retraction by O’Reilly himself[39] noting that several of O'Reilly’s allegations to support his theory were either false or inaccurate.[40][41]
Controversial topics discussed by O'Reilly
Jeremy Glick
It has been suggested that Jeremy Glick (author) be merged into this article. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2008. |
On his televised program on February 4, 2003, O'Reilly interviewed Jeremy Glick, an author whose father had been killed in the September 11 attacks. Glick had signed an anti-war ad that made comments relating the attacks to atrocities in Baghdad, Panama City and Vietnam. After Glick accused O'Reilly of evoking "9/11 to rationalize everything from domestic plunder to imperialistic aggression worldwide", and also of evoking "sympathy with the 9/11 families" to do the same, O'Reilly became visibly angered with Glick, stating "That's a bunch of crap. I've done more for the 9/11 families by their own admission — I've done more for them than you will ever hope to do". At one point in the interview, O'Reilly told Glick to "shut up" The short and heated segment ended with O'Reilly giving the command to his staff to cut Glick's microphone.[42][43]
According to Rolling Stone, Glick claims that O’Reilly said to him after the interview, “Get out of my studio before I tear you to fucking pieces.” Glick also claims to have insulted O’Reilly’s show off-camera.[44] After returning from the commercial break, O'Reilly stated to his audience, "If I knew that guy Jeremy Glick was gonna be like that I never would have brought him in here. I feel bad for his family, I really do." Afterward, O'Reilly apologized for Glick's appearance on the show, then accused Glick of touting 9/11 conspiracy theories. O'Reilly then asserted that Glick said the Bush administration planned the 9/11 attacks, an apparent misinterpretation of Glick's statement on the show.[45]
Military recruitment in San Francisco schools
On November 8 2005, the voters of San Francisco approved Proposition I/College Not Combat, a ballot measure that declared the city's opposition to "the federal government's use of public schools to recruit students for service in the military."[46] In response, O'Reilly stated on his radio show, "You know, if I'm the president of the United States, I walk right in to Union Square, I set up my little presidential podium, and I say listen, citizens of San Francisco, if you vote against military recruiting, you're not going to get another nickel in federal funds. Fine. You want to be your own country? Go right ahead. And if Al Qaeda comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it....We're going to say, "Look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead."[47] San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly responded, calling for O'Reilly to be fired from Fox.[48] O'Reilly refused to apologize, saying his comments were "obviously satirical."[49] The proposition's author, Todd Chretien, appeared on The O'Reilly Factor in response and stated that to the people of San Francisco, the proposition itself was "no laughing matter."
Shawn Hornbeck
Shawn Hornbeck (a former missing child) was found living with 41 year old Michael J. Devlin on January 12, 2007. Hornbeck had apparently been kidnapped by Devlin in 2002 at the age of 11. After being discovered, it was revealed that at some point in that four years Devlin had given Hornbeck the freedom to get on the internet, ride his bike, and have friends over. Many members of the media speculated that Hornbeck apparently did not try to escape because of Stockholm syndrome. On January 16, 2007's edition of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly called this analysis into question. He said that he doesn't believe in the Stockholm Syndrome, and that the boy probably preferred not going to school and playing video games to living with his parents. O'Reilly said: "The situation here, for this kid, looks to me to be a lot more fun than what he had under his old parents. He didn't have to go to school, he could run around and do whatever he wanted…there was an element here that this kid liked about this circumstance." He then went on to say that Hornbeck was probably maladjusted before being abducted. He supported his comments with the fact that Hornbeck had piercings and that O'Reilly himself had once taught high school. Following his comments, the Naples, Florida Chapter of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children announced that O'Reilly's appearance at a fundraiser where he was to give the keynote address was cancelled. He was replaced by John Walsh.[50]
Marvin Kitman and his O'Reilly biography
In January 2007, St. Martin's Press released a biography The Man Who Would Not Shut Up: The Rise of Bill O'Reilly, written by longtime Newsday TV critic Marvin Kitman. O'Reilly initially cooperated with the author by giving him 29 interviews. According to Kitman, O'Reilly was going to help promote and publicize the book until, just prior to publication, they had a disagreement over the inclusion of a chapter covering Andrea Mackris' 2004 sexual harassment lawsuit against O'Reilly.[51] After the book came out with the chapter included, Kitman asserts that O'Reilly, instead of promoting the book, attempted to bury it by "intimidating" and "terrorizing" Fox News reporters to keep them from giving Kitman interviews.[52]
In an interview with Keith Olbermann, Kitman criticized O'Reilly as "kind of a hypocrite" by pointing out O'Reilly's belief that journalists should not attempt to flatter or indulge the people they cover. "Throughout all my interviews," Kitman said, "[O'Reilly] was telling me that nobody could ever tell him what question to ask, or what to say." However, when the subject was O'Reilly himself, Kitman said that "it turned out that he‘s not so much in favor of telling it like it is, but like it isn‘t".[52] Kitman also said he found it strange that O'Reilly sought to suppress the book when it cast him in a generally positive light. When speaking to Olbermann, Kitman said, "This is the only book that‘s ever said anything positive about Bill, except for the six he wrote about himself."[52] Several critics agree that the book's portrayal is fair.[53][54]
Harlem restaurant comments
On the September 19, 2007 edition of The Radio Factor, prior to having a discussion about racial stereotypes with author and commentator Juan Williams,[55][56] O'Reilly mentioned a lunch he had with Rev. Al Sharpton at Sylvia's restaurant in Harlem. Before Williams joined the discussion, he said that he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant and any other restaurant in New York City. I mean, it was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks, primarily black patronship." Later on the show, while discussing with Williams the negative effect of gangsta rap on black culture, O'Reilly said, "There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea" in response to Juan Williams mention of black culture being too prominently portrayed as crude rappers.[57][58]
O'Reilly also said, "I think that black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves, getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and people trying to lead them into a race-based culture. They're just trying to figure it out. 'Look, I can make it. If I work hard and get educated, I can make it.'"[59] Roland S. Martin of CNN said that the notion that black people are just now starting to value education is "ridiculous" and that the notion that black people let Sharpton or Jackson think for them is "nuts". He suggested that O'Reilly's view was "based upon a stereotype" and called on O'Reilly and others who think like him to "wake up".[60]
Karl Frisch, spokesman for Media Matters, said O'Reilly's comments were "ignorant and racially charged." O'Reilly responded in his Talking Points Memo to how he believed that Media Matters took him out of context and how his radio show received no complaints about it. He defended his comments by saying, "It was an attempt to tell the radio audience that there is no difference black, white, we’re all Americans. The stereotypes they see on television are not true."[61] O'Reilly said, "Media Matters distorted the entire conversation and implied I was racist for condemning racism."[62]
In an interview with Keith Olbermann, Eugene Robinson of The Washington Post said that O'Reilly's initial remarks were "casually racist" and that O'Reilly's attempts to cast himself as the victim of a smear campaign were disingenuous.[63] On Morning Joe, Willie Geist said that, contrary to O'Reilly's position, "The more context you hear, the worse it gets." Geist also said that O'Reilly might not understand the nature of his comments or why they would spark controversy.[64]
Juan Williams said the criticism was “rank dishonesty” and that the original comments "had nothing to do with racist ranting by anybody except by these idiots at CNN."[65] Williams went on to say it was "frustrating" that the media try to criticize anyone who wanted to have an honest discussion about race. [66]
On the Today show, host Matt Lauer said, "I thought Bill O'Reilly was saying that we should not be surprised." He said O'Reilly's point is that "the small group of people" who think that certain rappers represent all African Americans "need to get out and live life a little bit". Lauer later speculated that O'Reilly would want to get "a do-over" and phrase his comments differently.[67]
On the Huffington Post blog, author Earl Ofari Hutchinson wrote that the comments "looked and sounded dumb and racist", but O'Reilly "didn't say anything that was earth shatteringly offensive" or anything that others might not say in private.[68]
Following the controversy, Jesse Jackson made his very first appearance on the O'Reilly Factor to discuss the controversy.[69] Jackson asked O'Reilly what he had intended by his comments and said that "to underestimate the civility of black people was offensive," but went on to say that the controversy over O'Reilly's remarks had obscured other, more important issues. [70]
References
- ^ Indiana University. "Content analysis of O'Reilly's Rhetoric find spin to be a 'factor'".
- ^ Mike Conway, Maria Elizabeth Grabe, and Kevin Grieves, "Villains, Victims, and the Virtuous in Bill O'Reilly's 'No-Spin Zone'," Journalism Studies 8:2 (2007).
- ^ a b c Mike Conway, Maria Elizabeth Grabe and Kevin Grieves, Los Angeles Times, Bill O'Reilly and Krippendorff's Alpha, May 16, 2007. Retrieved May 18, 2007.
- ^ O'Reilly B, "Calling People Names", Foxnews.com, May 4, 2007. Accessed May 10, 2007.
- ^ Mitchell R, "Stop Calling O'Reilly Names", LATimes.com (Opinion), May 10, 2007, Accessed May 10, 2007.
- ^ Media Matters - Peas in a pod: In LA Times op-ed, O'Reilly producer misrepresented IU study to defend host
- ^ "Our Mission: Who We Are". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ "Unresolved Problem: Political Smear Sites". 2005-10-05. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ O'Reilly purported to chart an intricate web leading to "vile propaganda outfit" Media Matters
- ^ Brock, David (2004-12-16). "Letter from David Brock to Bill O'Reilly". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ "outfoxed - transcript pgs 49-50" (PDF). Retrieved 2007-05-05.
- ^ 10 Questions For Bill O'Reilly - TIME
- ^ "GOP Woes Lead to Finger-Pointing; Bin Laden Resurfaces in Attack Ads". Air America Radio. 2005. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ "Franken vs. O'Reilly". 2005-05-24. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ a b Ackerman, Seth. "Bill O'Reilly's Sheer O'Reillyness". Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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suggested) (help) - ^ Franken, Al (2003). Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. Dutton Books. ISBN 0-525-94764-7.
- ^ a b "The George Polk Awards for Journalism". Long Island University. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ "Peabody/Polk = Franken's a Joke". Lying Liar. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ Rotten.com. "Bill O'Reilly".
- ^ Grove, Lloyd (2001-03-01). "The Reliable Source". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ Olbermann, Keith (2006-06-02). "Keith Olbermann Neuters Bill O'Reilly". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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(help) - ^ Olbermann, Keith (2006-06-05). "Keith Olbermann Points Out Bill O'Reilly Yet To Appologize". MSNBC Countdown with Keith Olbermann. YouTube. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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(help) - ^ "UPDATE: Fox News corrected transcript of O'Reilly's false claim U.S. committed atrocities at Malmédy". Mediamatters.org. 2006-06-05. Retrieved 2007-12-21.
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(help) - ^ Raphael (2005-10-27). "O'Reilly again trumpeted "annoying" French boycott". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2005-12-27.
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(help) - ^ G.W. (2004-07-07). "O'Reilly defended old lies exposed by Jack Mathews and MMFA, told new ones". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
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(help) - ^ G.W. (2004-04-28). "FOX's O'Reilly fabricated evidence of success of purported boycott". Media Matters for America.
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(help) - ^ "Sticks and Stones". Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. 2005.
- ^ R.S.K. (2005-08-02). "O'Reilly boycotts truth to spin French boycott; falsely claimed it 'hurt France'". Media Matters for America.
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(help) - ^ U.S. Census Bureau (2006). "U.S. Imports from France from 2001 to 2005". U.S. Census Bureau.
- ^ Think Progress » O’Reilly lifts boycott of France
- ^ Farhi, Paul (2000-12-13). "The Life of O'Reilly". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2004-04-18). "Gloves of fairness are off". New York Daily News. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
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(help) - ^ "New York Metro Maps (1960)". nycroads.com. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ The Al Franken Show, October 28, 2005.
- ^ Gay, Jason (2000-10-09). "Fox News Superstar Bill O'Reilly Wants to Oppose Hillary in 2006!". The New York Observer. Retrieved 2007-06-19.
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(help) - ^ * O'Reilly, Bill (2003). Who's Looking Out For You?.
- ^ Roddy, Dennis B (2005-12-02). "Religious stamps not outlawed after all". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
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(help) - ^ Tucker, Neely (2005-12-20). "Have a Holly, Jolly Holiday". The Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
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(help) - ^ S.G. (2005-12-21). "O'Reilly admits he falsely accused Plano of banning red and green clothing". Media Matters for America.
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(help) - ^ J.B. (2005-12-13). "O'Reilly falsely claimed that 'spiritual' Christmas stamps are no longer being offered". Media Matters for America. Retrieved 2007-01-19.
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(help) - ^ S.G. (2005). "Saginaw Township on the The O'Reilly Factor Radio Program". WNEM TV-5.
- ^ Jack Shafer, Slate.com, Bill O'Reilly Wants You To Shut Up, Aug. 28, 2003. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2007.
- ^ John Colapinto, Rolling Stone, Mad Dog, Aug. 11, 2004. Retrieved Oct. 20, 2007.
- ^ Mad Dog (Rolling Stone, Aug 11, 2004)
- ^ Transcript of Glick Interview
- ^ San Francisco Department of Elections (2005). "No Military Recruiters in Public Schools, Scholarships for Education and Job Training". San Francisco Department of Elections. Retrieved 2005-12-27.
- ^ Garofoli, Joe (2005-11-11). "Talk host's towering rant: S.F. not worth saving". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2005-12-27.
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(help) - ^ Garofoli, Joe (2005-11-12). "Local leaders unleash vitriol at O'Reilly TV host should be fired for comments about city, Daly says". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2005-12-27.
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(help) - ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2005-11-18). "San Francisco... Part III". FOX News Network, LLC (foxnews.com, "Talking Points,";;). Retrieved 2005-12-27.
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(help) - ^ "Statement". National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Collier County, Florida Branch. 2007-02-09. Retrieved 2007-02-14.
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(help) - ^ Lovece, Frank (January 18, 2007). "O'Reilly bio may surprise fans and foes". Newsday.com. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
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(help)Accessed via Google cache - ^ a b c 'Countdown with Keith Olbermann' for March 1 - Countdown with Keith Olbermann - MSNBC.com
- ^ Social Sciences - 12/15/2006 - Library Journal
- ^ Nonfiction Reviews: Week of 11/6/2006 - 11/6/2006 - Publishers Weekly
- ^ Transcript of Radio Factor with Juan Williams
- ^ Audio broadcast of Radio Factor 9/19/2007
- ^ FOXNews.com - Bill O'Reilly Says He's Being Smeared - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
- ^ Harlem dinner comments
- ^ Media Matters - CNN's Roland Martin on O'Reilly comment: "[L]ast I checked, I didn't hand over my brain to Rev. Sharpton"
- ^ CNN.com - Transcripts
- ^ Juan Williams and Bill O'Reiller defend comments
- ^ FOXNews.com - CNN Goes Over to the Dark Side - Bill O’Reilly | The O’Reilly Factor
- ^ Media Matters - Wash. Post 's Robinson on O'Reilly: "[I]t was, at best, a casually racist remark"
- ^ Media Matters - Scarborough: Fox's coverage of O'Reilly's comments suggests he "has nothing to do with" controversy
- ^ Juan Williams defends O'Reilly
- ^ FOXNews.com - Bill O'Reilly Says He's Being Smeared - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
- ^ Today Show on O'Reilly/Media Matters
- ^ In Defense of O'Reilly
- ^ Jesse Jackson on the O'Reilly factor
- ^ Media Matters - Rev. Jackson to O'Reilly: "[T]o underestimate the civility of blacks was insulting to many people"