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Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)

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This article is about Bill O'Reilly (commentator). For the cricketer, see Bill O'Reilly (cricketer).
Bill O'Reilly
File:Bill Oreilly.jpg
Bill O'Reilly
Born1949
United States New York City, NY, USA
Occupation(s)Commentator, Author, Journalist, syndicated columnist, and television personality
SpouseMaureen E. McPhilmy
ChildrenMadeline, Spencer
Websitebilloreilly.com

William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. (born 1949) is an author, journalist, syndicated columnist, and television personality.[1] O'Reilly is best known as the host of the cable news program The O'Reilly Factor, broadcast on the Fox News Channel. His work frequently appears on the radio and in print. Between 2003 and the first half of 2006, it ranked #1 among cable news programs, averaging 2.2 million viewers daily in 2005.[2][3]

O'Reilly also hosts a radio program, syndicated by Westwood One, entitled The Radio Factor, and has written five books, mostly featuring his own social-political views.

Personal background

Background

O'Reilly was born in New York City, to Irish Catholic parents William and Angela O'Reilly, from Brooklyn, New York and Bergen County, New Jersey, respectively. His father was an accountant. In 1951, his family moved to a home on Long Island, in Levittown, NY.[4][5] After graduating from Chaminade High School in 1967, O'Reilly attended Marist College, a small, co-educational private institution in Poughkeepsie, New York. While at Marist, O'Reilly played punter in the National Club Football Association,[6] and was also a columnist and feature writer for the school's newspaper, The Circle. As an honors student majoring in history, he spent his junior year of college abroad, attending Queen Mary College at the University of London.[7] O'Reilly received his B.A. in History in 1971. He played semi-professional baseball during this time as a pitcher for the Brooklyn Monarchs, leading him to try out to play for the American professional baseball team, the New York Mets. After college he worked for two years as a high school teacher.

O'Reilly married Maureen E. McPhilmy (born May 11, 1966), a public relations executive, in 1995. They have one daughter, Madeline, born in 1998, and a son, Spencer, born in 2003. According to an October 2005 interview in Newsday, O'Reilly hired bodyguards and is very sensitive about the general public taking pictures of him, calling some of them "stealth paparazzi".[8] O'Reilly has requested that no photographs of his home or family be made public — citing a desire to protect his family's privacy and security. He and his family now live in Manhasset, New York.[9]

Broadcasting career

After graduating from Marist College, O'Reilly moved to Miami, Florida at age 21, where he taught English and History at Monsignor Pace High School for two years. After leaving Miami, O'Reilly returned to school, earning a M.A. in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University in 1976. While attending Boston University, he was a reporter and columnist for various local newspapers and alternative news weeklies, including The Boston Phoenix. O'Reilly did his broadcast journalism internship in Miami during this time, and was also an entertainment writer and movie critic for The Miami Herald.

File:IEPromoWJLA1993.jpg
WJLA, Washington, D.C. Inside Edition promo featuring Bill O'Reilly, 1993.

O'Reilly's early television news career included reporting and anchoring positions at WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he also reported the weather. At WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, O'Reilly was awarded the Dallas Press Club Award for excellence in investigative reporting. He then moved to KMGH-TV in Denver, Colorado where he won an Emmy for his coverage of a skyjacking[10][11]. O'Reilly also worked for KATU-TV in Portland, Oregon, as well as TV stations in Hartford (WFSB), Connecticut, and in Boston, Massachusetts. [11]

In 1980, he anchored his own program on WCBS-TV in New York where he won his second Emmy for an investigation of corrupt city marshals. He was promoted to the network as a CBS News correspondent and covered the wars in El Salvador and the Falkland Islands from his base in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1982). He later left CBS over, amongst other tensions, a dispute concerning the uncredited use in a report by Bob Schieffer of riot footage shot by O'Reilly's crew in Buenos Aires during the Falklands conflict. (A 1998 novel by O'Reilly, Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder, depicts a television reporter who has a similar dispute over a Falklands War report. The character proceeds to exact his revenge on network staff in a series of graphically described violent ritualistic murders.)[12]

In 1986, O'Reilly joined ABC News as a correspondent on ABC World News Tonight. In three years, he appeared on the show over one hundred times, receiving two National Headliner Awards for excellence in reporting.

In 1989, O'Reilly joined the nationally syndicated King World (now CBS) program Inside Edition, a tabloid-style current affairs television program in competition with A Current Affair. He started as senior correspondent and backup anchor for celebrated British TV host David Frost, and subsequently became the program's anchor after Frost's brief tenure. In addition to being one of the first American broadcasters to cover the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, O'Reilly also obtained the first exclusive interview with murderer Joel Steinberg and was the first television host from a national current affairs program on the scene of the 1992 Los Angeles riots.

In 1995, O'Reilly was replaced by former NBC News and CBS News anchor Deborah Norville on Inside Edition. He then enrolled at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Master's Degree in Public Administration. Upon leaving Harvard, O'Reilly was hired by Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO of the then startup FOX News Channel, to anchor The O'Reilly Report. The nascent channel's most popular show was renamed to The O'Reilly Factor when it moved to a later time slot in 1998 since the host was the main "factor" of the show.

The O'Reilly Factor

Main article: The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor Promotional Image

O'Reilly's television show, The O'Reilly Factor, is routinely the highest-rated show of the three major American 24-hour cable news channels (CNN, FOX News and MSNBC). The show is taped late in the afternoon at a studio in New York City and airs daily on the FOX News Channel at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The Factor gained its notoriety in the late 1990s through O'Reilly's reporting on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky scandal.[citation needed] O'Reilly has repeatedly claimed throughout the years that Bill Clinton had the IRS audit him.[13]

In 2001, Mr. O'Reilly was given credit by many (including the US Congress) for ensuring money raised by the Red Cross and the United Way for the victims of September 11, 2001, actually went to the victims, instead of being diverted to other areas. In 2005, he participated in a fund raiser on NBC for the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake.

American Red Cross and the United Way

In the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks, O'Reilly devoted substantial time on his television show and wrote pieces alleging that the United Way and American Red Cross failed to deliver millions of dollars in donated money, raised by the organizations in the name of the disaster, to the families of those killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.[14][15] O'Reilly asserted that the organizations misrepresented their intentions for the money being raised by not distributing all of the 9/11 relief fund to the victims.[16] Actor George Clooney defended the United Way from O'Reilly's criticisms of a telethon which ended up raising $129.5 million, plus an additional $12 million in CD and DVD sales, according to Jeannette Reed, spokeswoman for the United Way of New York City. The funds were given to victims and surviving families in the form of cash assistance, she said. Congressional hearings were called on the matter and an investigation by New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, forced the president of the Red Cross to resign for her role in the situation, and then the Red Cross pledged that all funds would go to directly benefit the victims of the September 11 attacks.[17] In the aftermath, O'Reilly helped the Red Cross develop a revised policy regarding how donations would be distributed. In sworn testimony before the House Ways and Means Committee in November 2001, Congressman J.D. Hayworth asserted that media pressure, most notably from O'Reilly, helped cause the Red Cross to increase payments to affected people and helped cause other charities to participate in an oversight database established by Spitzer.[18]

On January 6, 2005 about three years after the Red Cross revised its policy on distributing its funds for the 911 families, O'Reilly claimed that a fund raising telethon by the United Way for the 2004 tsunami victims would end up the same as the 9/11 funds raised by the Red Cross. On January 10, 2005 George Clooney sent an e-mail to O'Reilly which pointed out that the United Way, not the Red Cross, sponsored the telethon and claimed that O'Reilly's comments were for personal gain and would cause fewer people to donate to the cause. Clooney also invited O'Reilly to present at the event and personally oversee and help the fund raising. O'Reilly responded later on his nightly show, "That sounds good to me, but I have to see what the format is."[19] O'Reilly did participate in the telethon.[20]

Extortion and Sexual harassment lawsuits

On October 13, 2004, O'Reilly filed a preemptive lawsuit against O'Reilly Factor producer Andrea Mackris, her lawyer (Benedict P. Morelli), and Morelli's law firm for extortion contending Mackris had privately demanded more than $60 million (USD) to settle a claim of sexual harassment. Mackris filed her complaint of sexual harassment later the same day.[21] In her complaint, she alleged that O'Reilly had made numerous references to "phone sex, vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, the loss of his virginity, and sexual fantasies."[22][23] [24][25] The complaint also sought additional damages and described alleged actions of retaliation by Fox, et.al.[25] O'Reilly filed an answer to the complaints, and the two cases were settled out of court.[26]

Both parties agreed to keep the terms of settlement confidential, and to withdraw their claims of wrongdoing, which each have done. According to the Post, the settlement amount was likely in the millions of dollars. After the case was settled, O'Reilly's only public comment was, "This chapter is behind me, and I will never talk about it again." O'Reilly has not commented since.

Apology to the nation

Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America on 18 March, 2003, O'Reilly made the following promise: "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein and it's clean, he has nothing, I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again."

In another appearance on the same program on 10 February 2004, O'Reilly responded to repeated requests for him to honor his pledge: "My analysis was wrong and I'm sorry. I was wrong. I'm not pleased about it at all." With regard to never again trusting the current U.S. government, he said, "I am much more skeptical of the Bush administration now than I was at that time." He has continued to publicly support George W. Bush and the U.S. invasion of Iraq.

O'Reilly's political beliefs and points of view

O'Reilly's politics

On his January 10, 2000 show, O'Reilly claimed he was an independent, but the New York Daily News reported on December 6, 2000, that he was registered as a Republican in Nassau County, New York, from 1994 to 2000. O'Reilly then registered as an Independent for 2001. He claimed that Nassau County would not allow him to register as an Independent. The form did allow him to register with "no party affiliation".

O'Reilly disagrees with a common claim that he is a conservative, preferring to call himself a traditionalist and a populist. He has also used the term Independent. In his book The O'Reilly Factor, he describes his political affiliation this way: "You might be wondering if whether I'm conservative, liberal, libertarian, or exactly what... See, I don't want to fit any of those labels, because I believe that the truth doesn't have labels. When I see corruption, I try to expose it. When I see exploitation, I try to fight it. That's my political position."

Personal views

  • Opposes prostitution on grounds of "laziness" rather than any moral problem with it [27]
  • Says that the "forces of secularism" go unchecked, "they will destroy America as we know it."[3]
  • Supports subjecting violent criminals to life in a federal work camp rather than being put to death.[5]
  • Opposes income redistribution [6]
  • Supports what he calls "coerced interrogation," at Guantanamo Bay, which he agrees some people would characterize "torture" [7]
  • Says the ACLU is currently the most dangerous organization in the United States of America[9]
  • Opposes the expansion of job security and entitlement programs believing they undermine ambition[11]
  • Supported federal intervention by Republican politicians in the Terri Schiavo controversy to reinstate her feeding tube[13]
  • Supports adoption by gay parents, but only as a "last resort" to leaving children in "the system." [16]
  • Supports a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage[17] but would not oppose it if it were legal[18] and supports same-sex civil unions as a third way.[19][20]
  • Supports income-based affirmative action[21]
  • After reading a poll showing that only 2% of the Iraq people viewed the US Forces as liberators and 55% prefered that they leave, O'Reilly said they are a prehistoric group and he has no respect for them. He added: "we cannot intervene in the Muslim world ever again. What we can do is bomb the living daylights out of them (...) no more ground troops, no more hearts and minds, ain't going to work." [24].
  • Has claimed that "many of the poor in New Orleans" did not evacuate the city before Hurricane Katrina because "they were drug-addicted" and "weren't going to get turned off from their source." O'Reilly added, "They were thugs." [25]
  • Supports Jessica's Law and criticizes what he believes to be lenient treatment of those convicted of child molestation. [26]

O'Reilly's typical concluding remarks

At the conclusion of each episode of The Factor, O'Reilly ends the show by reminding the viewers to visit his two websites, and then provides his email address and requests that they "opine", making sure to include their "name and town, name and town, name and town" and to keep it "pithy". His final words are always marked by telling his viewers that if "they wish to opine, then please do not be a (colorful descriptive noun)". Sometimes, O'Reilly reminds the viewers not to "bloviate", because in his words, "that is my job." After this, he usually announces the imminent upcoming episode of Hannity & Colmes, and then signs off, saying "the spin stops here, because we are looking out for you."

Some of these nouns include "popinjay", "jackanapes", "blatherskite", "scaramouch", and "clinchpoop." He occassionally will spring a new word on the viewers, and such an action often results in a barrage of e-mails commenting on his new "word".

Published works

O'Reilly is a columnist for the New York Post and Newsmax website and magazine. He has written four bestselling non-fiction books and a novel (Those Who Trespass). The O'Reilly Factor For Kids was 2005's best selling non-fiction children’s book,[28] while Who's Looking Out For You?, The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone reached number one on The New York Times' Non Fiction Best Seller list.[29]

French boycott

In March 2003, O'Reilly called for a boycott of all French products for their position in the Iraq war. He has said that his boycott has "hurt" France, referring to The Paris Business Review as his source, a publication that doesn't exist. O'Reilly has also claimed that the US Census has indicated a drop in US-France trade. In a letter to the New York Daily News in July, 2004, O'Reilly wrote there had been a drop of French business in the US by $138,000,000 compared to the previous year as a result of the boycott, although official statistics show the opposite.[30]

Opinions on others' politics

O'Reilly is generally critical of the "far left" and "far right" in American politics. However, much of his focus is on far left individuals and organizations. When asked why he rarely addresses the far right, he believes the far right have much less influence in the mainstream American media as opposed to the far left.

Whom he considers far right:

O'Reilly has identified many more to be on the far left. The following people or organizations he considers far left:

Opinions on political groups

  • Claims that "liberals will never come to power in the United States--at least in our lifetime" because they fail to protect children from sexual predators [104]
  • Regarding the Democratic Party, he says "The truth is that the Democratic party has been hijacked by the far left and really can't persuade anyone" [105]

Politicians endorsed by O'Reilly

  • On the September 24 2005 edition of The O'Reilly Factor, he advised his viewers to vote for Republican Doug Forrester in the 2005 New Jersey gubernatorial election, suggesting that Jon Corzine, a Democrat, would not be as tough on child molesters [32].
  • In 2003 O'Reilly urged the voters of California to recall governor Gray Davis, stating, "The corrupt Democratic machine has to go," and urging them to vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger[106]. However, in the same segment, O'Reilly mentioned that the "corrupt GOP" that was once in power in his home of Nassau County, New York also had to go and that the new Democrat in charge has been doing OK.
  • Two years later, on the day of the citizen initiatives elections in California, as well as the gubernatorial elections in New Jersey and Virginia, he urged his listeners to vote for the Republican governor's proposals on the ballot [33].
  • O'Reilly has said of former Democratic president Bill Clinton: "Brilliant. I think he did a good job as president ... Had a little problem with the honesty deal. And that gave me pause. But his presidency was successful" [34].

Politicians opposed by O'Reilly

  • In 2004 he urged his viewers to vote against Democratic senate candidate Betty Castor in Florida.[107]
  • O'Reilly also urged his listeners on The Radio Factor to vote against Democratic Senator Tom Daschle in the 2004 Senate election [35]
  • O'Reilly is critical of former Democratic president Bill Clinton and Janet Reno, and has referred to the two jointly as the "Clinton-Reno regime".[108] He has praised John Ashcroft, whom he was at first critical of, in comparison to Reno, whom he called the worst attorney general in history.[109]
  • O'Reilly is also critical of Democratic Senator Hillary Clinton and her presumed intention to run in the United States Presidential Election, 2008. In an interview with Jay Leno he said, "I just feel that Hillary is a socialist, and I'm paying enough tax. Hillary wants to take my money [and] your money ... and give it to strangers. There's something about that that offends me." [110]
  • O'Reilly called some governors and state assemblymen, "villains" for failures to support manditory minimum sentences for child sexual abusers and related laws that he favors and said: "Massachusetts has no mandatory minimums for child predators. Speaker of the House Sal Dimasi, big villain in that state. Wyoming, no mandatories. Governor Dave Freudenthal is the villain here. Vermont, no mandatory minimums, and is soft on child predators across the board. Not a kid friendly state. Maryland, no mandatories. Senator Brian Frosh is the villain. Tennessee, no mandatories. Governor Phil Bredesen the villain. Idaho also, no mandatory minimum sentences. Former Governor Kempthorne was the bad guy. Hawaii, Montana, Maine, and Utah, also child predator friendly states. If you live there, please put pressure on your governor." [111]

Controversies, critics, and rivals

File:Jeremyglickinterview.jpg
The Jeremy Glick interview -- see picture for details
Main articles: Bill O'Reilly controversies and Bill O'Reilly critics and rivals

Over the years, there have been several controversial issues highlighted in O'Reilly's print and broadcast work. He has been involved in many disputes with figures and sources including Al Franken, Michael Savage, George Clooney, Keith Olbermann, David Letterman, Media Matters, Neal Boortz, Ludacris, and various Iraq War critics, including Jeremy Glick and the president of ABC News in New York. In addition, the Comedy Central program The Colbert Report, hosted by Stephen Colbert, parodies the O'Reilly Factor.

Host succession

Preceded by Host of Inside Edition
1989–1995 		Succeeded by

Quotes

(about David Letterman) ""Mr. Letterman is a smart guy who can spot a phony with telescopic accuracy and expects his guests to bring something to the table. If a guest begins to sink on this show, the bottom is a long way down.[112]"" — Bill O'Reilly


(David Letterman to Bill O'Reilly) "I'm not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling that about 60 percent of what you say is crap ...I'm just spitballing here...This 'fair and balanced'...I don't think you represent an objective viewpoint...I don't watch your show..."[113]

References

  1. ^ O'Reilly's Fox news Bio
  2. ^ Nielsen Media Research (2005). "Nielsen Media Research; 2005 Competitive Program Analysis" (PDF).
  3. ^ Q2 '06: Program Ranker, MediaBistro.com
  4. ^ "The Life of O'Reilly", Paul Farhi, Washington Post, December 13, 2000
  5. ^ Deed.jpg, LyingLiar.com
  6. ^ Duffy, Don (1970). ""Campus Stuff" (The Circle)" (PDF). Poughkeepsie, NY: Marist College (Originally published in The Circle on November 19, 1970). Retrieved December 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  7. ^ Marist (2001). "2001 Commencement Program". Poughkeepsie, NY: Marist College, Office of Alumni Relations (Originally published in the May 19, 2001 Commencement Program). Retrieved December 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Gay, Verne (2005). "What's hate got to do with it?" (October 18 ed.). Newsday.
  9. ^ Bill O'Reilly Birdseye, cryptome.org
  10. ^ Bill O'Reilly's Bio Accessed August 2006
  11. ^ a b Malinowski, Scoop (November 8, 2004). "Get 2 Know Bill O'Reilly!". TheBioFILE.com. Retrieved September 9. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: year (link)
  12. ^ "Fear Factor - Bill O’Reilly’s baroque period", Nicholas Lemann, The New Yorker, March 20, 2006
  13. ^ "IRS Official to Judicial Watch: Clinton Enemies Were Audited", Carl Limbacher, NewsMax.com, April 23, 2002
  14. ^ "O'Reilly rips celeb 'phonies'", Richard Johnson with Paula Froelich and Chris Wilson, PapillonsArtPalace.com, November 2, 2001
  15. ^ "Fight the power", Bill O'Reilly, WorldNetDaily, December 13, 2001
  16. ^ "Red Cross Diverts Donations From Sept. 11 Victims", Kevin Curran, NewsMax.com, October 31, 2001
  17. ^ "Red Cross President Resigns Under Pressure From Board", Grant Williams, Philanthropy.com, October 26, 2001
  18. ^ Opening Statement of the Hon. J.D. Hayworth, Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Oversight of the House Committee on Ways and Means, Hearing on Response by Charitable Organizations to the Recent Terrorist Attacks, Committee on Ways & Means, November 8, 2001
  19. ^ "Clooney, O'Reilly spar over tsunami telethon", CNN.com, January 11, 2005
  20. ^ Full Cast and Crew for Tsunami Aid: A Concert of Hope, IMDb.com
  21. ^ Photocopy of lawsuit
  22. ^ TheSmokingGun.com (2004a). "O'Reilly: Female Aide in $60M Extort Bid". Courtroom Television Network LLC (appeared October 13). Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  23. ^ TheSmokingGun.com (2004b). "O'Reilly Hit With Sex Harass Suit". Courtroom Television Network LLC (appeared October 13). Retrieved July 11. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  24. ^ Howard Kurtz, "O'Reilly, Accuser Air Their Cases", Washington Post, October 15, 2004
  25. ^ a b Howard Kurtz, "Bill O'Reilly, Producer Settle Harassment Suit", Washington Post, October 29, 2004
  26. ^ Kurtz, H. (2004). "Bill O'Reilly, Producer Settle Harassment Suit". The Washington Post Co. (washingtonpost.com on October 29). Retrieved December 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  27. ^ Kincaid, Cliff (2002). "Shame on Fox News". Washington, D.C.: Accuracy In Media (December 19). Retrieved December 26. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
  28. ^ Bill's Bio, BillOReilly.com
  29. ^ New York Times Best Seller; Number Ones Listing; Non Fiction By Date, Hawes.com
  30. ^ G.W. (2004). "FOX's O'Reilly fabricated evidence of success of purported boycott". Media Matters.
  31. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2006). Ann Coulter is Far Right%5d "Uncivil Debate" (OGG). Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help) June 7 2006 Show
  32. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2005). "Protecting the Kids in New Jersey..." FOX News.
  33. ^ O'Reilly, Bill (2005). "Election Day, 2005". FOX News.
  34. ^ "Bill O'Reilly Calls Himself 'T-Warrior'". ABC News. 2006.
  35. ^ G.W. (2004). "Self-proclaimed non-partisan Bill O'Reilly urged listeners to vote against Daschle in South Dakota; O'Reilly's Dem Convention preview: Daschle's "no good"; [[Nancy Pelosi|Pelosi]]'s a "nut"; [[Max Cleland]]'s "strange"". Media Matters. {{cite web}}: URL–wikilink conflict (help)
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