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Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)
Encyclopedia
William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10, 1949) is an American television host
, author, syndicated columnist
and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary
program The O'Reilly Factor
on the Fox News Channel
, which is the most watched cable news
television program on American television. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a news reporter for various local television stations in the United States and eventually for CBS News
and ABC News
. From 1989 to 1995, he was anchor of the entertainment news program Inside Edition
.
O'Reilly is widely considered a conservative commentator, though some of his positions diverge from conservative orthodoxy (in particular his opposition to the death penalty). O'Reilly characterizes himself as a "traditionalist
". O'Reilly is the author of ten books, and hosted The Radio Factor
until early 2009.
section of Manhattan
to parents William James, Sr. (deceased) and Winifred Angela Drake O'Reilly, from Brooklyn
, New York and Teaneck
, New Jersey
. Bill O'Reilly's ancestors on his father's side lived in County Cavan
, Ireland since the early eighteenth century, and those on his mother's side were from Northern Ireland
. The O'Reilly family lived in a small apartment in Fort Lee, New Jersey
when their son was born. In 1951, his family moved to Levittown
on Long Island
. O'Reilly has a sister, Janet. He attended St. Brigid parochial school in Westbury
and Chaminade High School
, a private Catholic boys high school in Mineola
. His father wanted him to attend Chaminade, but Bill wanted to attend W. Tresper Clarke High School
, the public school where most of his closest friends would attend. Bill O'Reilly played Little League
baseball and was the goalie on the Chaminade varsity hockey team. During his high school years, O'Reilly met future pop-singer icon Billy Joel
whom O'Reilly described as a "hoodlum." O'Reilly recollected in an interview with Michael Kay on the YES Network
show CenterStage, that Joel "was in the Hicksville section – the same age as me – and he was a hood. He used to slick it [his hair] back like this. And we knew him, because his guys would smoke and this and that, and we were more jocks."
After graduating from high school in 1967, O'Reilly attended Marist College
, his father's choice. While at Marist, O'Reilly played punter in the National Club Football
Association, and was also a writer for the school's newspaper, The Circle. An honors student, he majored in history
. He spent his junior year of college abroad, attending Queen Mary College
at the University of London
. O'Reilly received his Bachelor of Arts
in history
in 1971. He played semi-professional
baseball
during this time, as a pitcher for the New York Monarchs. 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
from 1970 to 1972. O'Reilly returned to school in 1973 and earned a Master of Arts
in broadcast journalism
from Boston University
. While attending Boston University, he was a reporter and columnist for various local newspapers and alternative news weeklies, including The Boston Phoenix
, and did an internship in the newsroom of WBZ-TV
. During his time at BU, O'Reilly also was classmates with future radio talk show host Howard Stern
whom O'Reilly noticed because Stern was the only student on campus taller than he. O'Reilly also earned a Master of Public Administration
from Harvard University
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
. At Harvard, he was a student of Marvin Kalb
.
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 a local Emmy Award
for his coverage of a skyjacking. O'Reilly also worked for KATU-TV
in Portland, Oregon
, as well as TV stations in Hartford, Connecticut
(WFSB-TV), and in Boston, Massachusetts (WNEV-TV).
In 1980, O'Reilly anchored the local news-feature program 7:30 Magazine at WCBS-TV
in New York. Soon after, as a WCBS News anchor and correspondent, he won his second local Emmy for an investigation of corrupt city marshals. In 1982, 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
. He later left CBS over 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.
O'Reilly joined ABC News
as a correspondent in 1986. He delivered a eulogy for his friend Joe Spencer, an ABC News correspondent who died in a helicopter crash on January 22, 1986 en route to covering the Hormel
meatpacker strike that day. ABC News president Roone Arledge
, who attended Spencer's funeral, decided to hire O'Reilly after hearing his eulogy. At ABC, O'Reilly hosted daytime news briefs that previewed stories to be reported on the day's World News Tonight and worked as a general assignment reporter for ABC News programs, including Good Morning America
, Nightline, and World News Tonight.
O'Reilly has stated that his interest and style in media came from several CBS and ABC personalities including Mike Wallace
, Howard Cosell
, Dick Snyder
and Peter Jennings
.
) program Inside Edition
, a tabloid/gossip television program in competition with A Current Affair. He became the program's anchor after the termination of David Frost
. 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
.
Former NBC News
and CBS News
anchor Deborah Norville
replaced O'Reilly on Inside Edition in 1995; O'Reilly had expressed a desire to quit the show in July 1994. He then enrolled at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
at Harvard University in September 1995, where he received a Master's degree
in Public Administration. His graduate thesis, which he researched in Singapore
, was titled Theory of Coerced Drug Rehabilitation. In his thesis, O'Reilly asserted that supervised mandatory drug rehabilitation would reduce crime, based on the rate of prison return for criminals in Alabama
who enrolled in a such program.
, chairman and CEO of the then startup Fox News Channel
, to anchor The O'Reilly Report in October, 1996. The show was renamed The O'Reilly Factor
, after O'Reilly's friend and branding expert John Tantillo
's remarks upon the "O'Reilly Factor" in any of the stories O'Reilly told. The program is routinely the highest-rated show of the three major U.S. 24-hour
cable news
television channels and began the trend toward more opinion-oriented prime-time cable news programming. The show is taped late in the afternoon at a studio in New York City and airs every weekday on the Fox News Channel at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and is rebroadcast at 11:00 p.m.
Until early 2009, O'Reilly hosted a radio program that had more than 3.26 million listeners and was carried by more than 400 radio stations. According to the talk radio industry publication Talkers Magazine
, O'Reilly was #11 on the "Heavy Hundred", a list of the 100 most important talk show hosts in America. Conservative Internet news site NewsMax’s "Top 25 Talk Radio Host" list selected O'Reilly to the #2 spot as most influential host in the nation.
O'Reilly's life and career have not been without controversy. Progressive
media watchdog organizations such as Media Matters
and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
have criticized O'Reilly's reporting on a variety of issues, accusing him of distorting facts and using misleading or erroneous statistics.
After the September 11 attacks, O'Reilly accused the United Way of America and American Red Cross
of failing 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 attacks. O'Reilly reported that the organizations misrepresented their intentions for the money being raised by not distributing all of the 9/11 relief fund to the victims. Actor George Clooney
accused O'Reilly of misstating facts and harming the relief effort by inciting "panic" among potential donors.
Beginning in 2005, O'Reilly periodically denounced George Tiller
, a Kansas
-based physician who specialized in second and third trimester abortion
s, often referring to him as "Tiller the baby killer". Tiller was murdered on May 31, 2009 by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist. Critics such as Salon.com
's Gabriel Winant have asserted that O'Reilly's anti-Tiller rhetoric helped to create an atmosphere of violence around the doctor. Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that O'Reilly "clearly went overboard in his condemnation and demonization of Tiller" but added that it was "irresponsible to link O'Reilly" to Tiller's murder. O'Reilly has responded to the criticism by saying "no backpedaling here ... every single thing we said about Tiller was true".
In early 2007, researchers from the Indiana University
School of Journalism published a report that analyzed O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" segment. Using analysis techniques developed in the 1930s by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis
, the study concluded that O'Reilly used propaganda
, frequently engaged in name calling
, and consistently cast non-Americans as threats and never "in the role of victim or hero." O'Reilly responded, asserting that "the terms 'conservative,' 'liberal
,' 'left
,' 'right
,' 'progressive
,' 'traditional' and 'centrist
' were considered name-calling if they were associated with a problem or social ill." The study's authors claimed those terms were only considered name-calling when linked to derogatory qualifiers. Fox News producer Ron Mitchell wrote an op-ed in which he accused the study's 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.
O'Reilly is the main inspiration for comedian Stephen Colbert
's satirical character
on the Comedy Central
show The Colbert Report, which features Colbert in a "full-dress parody" of The O'Reilly Factor. On the show, Colbert refers to O'Reilly as "Papa Bear." O'Reilly and Colbert exchanged appearances on each others' shows in January 2007.
Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America
on March 18, 2003, O'Reilly promised that "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein
and it's clean [of weapons of mass destruction]...I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again." In another appearance on the same program on February 10, 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."
On May 10, 2008, O'Reilly was presented with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
Governors' Award at an Emmy awards show dinner.
, sued O'Reilly for sexual harassment
on October 13, 2004, seeking $60 million in damages in response to a lawsuit O'Reilly filed previously that day charging Mackris for extortion, alleging that she had threatened a lawsuit unless he paid her more than $60 million. In her allegations against O'Reilly, Mackris claimed two types of legally cognizable sexual harassment claims that are not based upon physical contact: quid pro quo
and hostile work environment
. In her lawsuit, she filed a 22-page complaint with the Supreme Court of the State of New York and produced quotations from alleged explicit phone conversations between herself and O’Reilly in which he "advised her to use a vibrator and told her about sexual fantasies involving her". On October 15, 2004, Fox sought judicial permission to fire Mackris, but she was never dismissed. On October 19, 2004, Mackris filed an amended complaint seeking further damages for illegal retaliatory actions by O'Reilly, Fox News, and the News Corporation
-owned newspaper, The New York Post. On October 28, 2004, O'Reilly and Mackris reached an out-of-court settlement and dropped all charges against each other. According to several published reports, as part of the settlement, O'Reilly likely paid Mackris millions of dollars, but the terms of the agreement are confidential.
as a credential. In an interview with The Washington Post
, O'Reilly's mother said that her family lived in Westbury
, which is a few miles from Levittown. Citing this interview, then liberal talk-show pundit Al Franken
accused O'Reilly of distorting his background to create a more working-class image. O'Reilly countered that The Washington Post misquoted his mother, and he said his mother still lives in his childhood home, which was built by William Levitt. O'Reilly placed a copy of the house's mortgage on his website; the mortgage shows a Levittown postal address. O'Reilly has also said, "You don't come from any lower than I came from on an economic scale" and that his father--a currency accountant for an oil company-- "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. O'Reilly responded that his father's $35,000 income only came at the end of his long career.
On The O'Reilly Factor and on his former talk-radio program, Bill O'Reilly has focused on news and commentary related to politics and culture. O'Reilly has long said that he does not identify with any political party. On December 6, 2000, The Daily News in New York reported, however, that he had been registered with the Republican Party in the state of New York since 1994. When questioned about this, he said that he was not aware of it and says he registered as an independent after the interview. During a broadcast of The Radio Factor, O'Reilly said that there was no option to register as an independent voter; however, there was in fact a box marked "I do not wish to enroll in party."
Despite being registered as an Independent, many view him as a conservative figure. A Pew Research February 2009 poll found that 66% of his television viewers identify themselves as conservative, 24% moderate, and 3% liberal. A November 2008 poll by Zogby International
found that O'Reilly was the second most trusted news personality after Rush Limbaugh.
In a 2003 interview with Terry Gross
on National Public Radio, O'Reilly said:
On a September 2007 edition of The Radio Factor
, while having a discussion about race with fellow Fox News commentator and author Juan Williams
about a meal he shared with Al Sharpton
, O'Reilly said 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." He commented that no one in Sylvia's was "screaming M'Fer, I want more iced tea." He further added that "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.'" 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". O'Reilly responded, 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." O'Reilly said, "Media Matters distorted the entire conversation and implied I was racist
for condemning racism." Juan Williams
said the criticism of O'Reilly was “rank dishonesty” and that the original comments "had nothing to do with racist ranting by anybody except by these idiots at CNN." Williams went on to say it was "frustrating" that the media try to criticize anyone who wanted to have an honest discussion about race.
, New York.
products, saying that Ludacris
' lyrics glamorize a "life of guns, violence, drugs and disrespect of women". The next day, O'Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Ludacris.
Three years later, this would be referenced again in the song Number One Spot
.
In an interview with RadarOnline.com in 2010, Ludacris stated that they had made amends after a conversation between the two at a charity event.
, Laura Ingraham
, and O'Reilly criticized Akon
for "degrading women." Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and Universal Music Group
then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA
takedown notice.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use
. In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.
and Whoopi Goldberg
walked off the set of The View after they both disagreed with statements made by O'Reilly, specifically O'Reilly's statement, "Muslims killed us on 9/11." Barbara Walters then told the audience, "We should be able to have discussion without . . . walking off stage."
(Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Best-selling nonfiction children's book of 2005) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list; Achieved more than one million copies in print in its first three months)
In addition, O'Reilly writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column that appears in numerous newspapers, including the New York Post
and the Chicago Sun-Times
.
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
, author, syndicated columnist
Syndicated columnist
This list of syndicated columnists comprises columnists whose recurring columns are published in multiple periodical publications .*Ghaith Abdul-Ahad*Yasmin Alibhai-Brown*Timothy Garton Ash*Lucius Beebe*Max Boot...
and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary
Cable television
Cable television is a system of providing television programs to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or digital light pulses through fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional...
program The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
on the Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, which is the most watched cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
television program on American television. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a news reporter for various local television stations in the United States and eventually for CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
and ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
. From 1989 to 1995, he was anchor of the entertainment news program Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
.
O'Reilly is widely considered a conservative commentator, though some of his positions diverge from conservative orthodoxy (in particular his opposition to the death penalty). O'Reilly characterizes himself as a "traditionalist
Traditionalist Conservatism
Traditionalist conservatism, also known as "traditional conservatism," "traditionalism," "Burkean conservatism", "classical conservatism" and , "Toryism", describes a political philosophy emphasizing the need for the principles of natural law and transcendent moral order, tradition, hierarchy and...
". O'Reilly is the author of ten books, and hosted The Radio Factor
The Radio Factor
The Radio Factor was a nationally syndicated talk radio program, which aired from 2002–2009 and was hosted mainly by Bill O'Reilly. The program, which featured host commentary with a mix of listener call-in and guest segments was broadcast live every weekday from the Fox News Channel studios in...
until early 2009.
Early life and education
O'Reilly was born on September 10, 1949, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in the Washington HeightsWashington Heights, Manhattan
Washington Heights is a New York City neighborhood in the northern reaches of the borough of Manhattan. It is named for Fort Washington, a fortification constructed at the highest point on Manhattan island by Continental Army troops during the American Revolutionary War, to defend the area from the...
section of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to parents William James, Sr. (deceased) and Winifred Angela Drake O'Reilly, from Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York and Teaneck
Teaneck, New Jersey
Teaneck is a township in Bergen County, New Jersey, and a suburb in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 39,776, making it the second-most populous among the 70 municipalities in Bergen County....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. Bill O'Reilly's ancestors on his father's side lived in County Cavan
County Cavan
County Cavan is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Cavan. Cavan County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland since the early eighteenth century, and those on his mother's side were from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. The O'Reilly family lived in a small apartment in Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Fort Lee is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 35,345. Located atop the Hudson Palisades, the borough is the western terminus of the George Washington Bridge...
when their son was born. In 1951, his family moved to Levittown
Levittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
on Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
. O'Reilly has a sister, Janet. He attended St. Brigid parochial school in Westbury
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
and Chaminade High School
Chaminade High School
Chaminade High School is a Roman Catholic college preparatory high school for young men. Located in Mineola, New York, the school was founded in 1930 by the Society of Mary , an international Roman Catholic teaching order of priests and religious Brothers. The school is named for Father William...
, a private Catholic boys high school in Mineola
Mineola, New York
Mineola is a village in Nassau County, New York, USA. The population was 18,799 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a Native American word meaning a "pleasant place"....
. His father wanted him to attend Chaminade, but Bill wanted to attend W. Tresper Clarke High School
W. Tresper Clarke High School
W. Tresper Clarke High School is a high school in Westbury New York, USA. It is operated by the East Meadow Union Free School District, also known as the East Meadow School District. The school opened in 1957, and was named in honor of W. Tresper Clarke, a former president of the East Meadow...
, the public school where most of his closest friends would attend. Bill O'Reilly played Little League
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
baseball and was the goalie on the Chaminade varsity hockey team. During his high school years, O'Reilly met future pop-singer icon Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
whom O'Reilly described as a "hoodlum." O'Reilly recollected in an interview with Michael Kay on the YES Network
YES Network
The Yankees Entertainment and Sports Network is a New York City-based, regional cable television channel; it broadcasts a variety of sports events, with an emphasis on New York Yankees baseball games, and New Jersey Nets basketball games. YES made its debut on March 19, 2002...
show CenterStage, that Joel "was in the Hicksville section – the same age as me – and he was a hood. He used to slick it [his hair] back like this. And we knew him, because his guys would smoke and this and that, and we were more jocks."
After graduating from high school in 1967, O'Reilly attended Marist College
Marist College
Marist College is a private liberal arts college on the east bank of the Hudson River near Poughkeepsie, New York. The site was established in 1905 by Marist Brothers, and the college was chartered in 1929...
, his father's choice. While at Marist, O'Reilly played punter in the National Club Football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
Association, and was also a writer for the school's newspaper, The Circle. An honors student, he majored in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
. He spent his junior year of college abroad, attending Queen Mary College
Queen Mary, University of London
Queen Mary, University of London is a public research university located in London, United Kingdom and a constituent college of the federal University of London...
at the University of London
University of London
-20th century:Shortly after 6 Burlington Gardens was vacated, the University went through a period of rapid expansion. Bedford College, Royal Holloway and the London School of Economics all joined in 1900, Regent's Park College, which had affiliated in 1841 became an official divinity school of the...
. O'Reilly received his Bachelor of Arts
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
in 1971. He played semi-professional
Semi-professional
A semi-professional athlete is one who is paid to play and thus is not an amateur, but for whom sport is not a full-time occupation, generally because the level of pay is too low to make a reasonable living based solely upon that source, thus making the athlete not a full professional...
baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
during this time, as a pitcher for the New York Monarchs. After graduating from Marist College, O'Reilly moved to Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
at age 21, where he taught English
English studies
English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language , English linguistics English studies is an academic discipline that includes the study of literatures written in the English language (including literatures from the U.K., U.S.,...
and history at Monsignor Pace High School
Monsignor Edward Pace High School
Monsignor Edward Pace High School is a Catholic secondary school in Miami Gardens, Florida.It was named a Blue Ribbon School in 2002 and one of the top 50 Catholic high schools in the country in 2004 and 2005 by the Catholic High School Honor Roll. Pace is member of the National Catholic...
from 1970 to 1972. O'Reilly returned to school in 1973 and earned a Master of Arts
Master of Arts (postgraduate)
A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...
in broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism
Broadcast journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include radio , television , and, especially recently, the Internet generally...
from Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
. While attending Boston University, he was a reporter and columnist for various local newspapers and alternative news weeklies, including The Boston Phoenix
The Phoenix (newspaper)
The Phoenix is the name of several alternative weekly newspapers published in the United States by Phoenix Media/Communications Group of Boston, Massachusetts including the Boston Phoenix, the Providence Phoenix, the Portland Phoenix and the now-defunct Worcester Phoenix...
, and did an internship in the newsroom of WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV
WBZ-TV, virtual channel 4, is a CBS owned-and-operated television station, located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. WBZ-TV's studios and office facilities, shared with sister station WSBK-TV , are located in the Allston-Brighton section of Boston, and its transmitter is located in Needham,...
. During his time at BU, O'Reilly also was classmates with future radio talk show host Howard Stern
Howard Stern
Howard Allan Stern is an American radio personality, television host, author, and actor best known for his radio show, which was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2005. He gained wide recognition in the 1990s where he was labeled a "shock jock" for his outspoken and sometimes controversial style...
whom O'Reilly noticed because Stern was the only student on campus taller than he. O'Reilly also earned a Master of Public Administration
Master of Public Administration
The Master of Public Administration is a professional post-graduate degree in Public Administration. The MPA program prepares individuals to serve as managers in the executive arm of local, state/provincial, and federal/national government, and increasingly in nongovernmental organization and...
from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
's John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
. At Harvard, he was a student of Marvin Kalb
Marvin Kalb
Marvin L. Kalb is an American journalist. Kalb was the Shorenstein Center's Founding Director and Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press and Public Policy . The Shorenstein Center and the Kennedy School are part of Harvard University...
.
Broadcasting career
O'Reilly's early television news career included reporting and anchoring positions at WNEP-TVWNEP-TV
WNEP-TV is the ABC-affiliated television station for northeastern Pennsylvania licensed to Scranton. It broadcasts a high definition digital signal on UHF channel 50 from a transmitter on Penobscot Knob in Mountain Top...
in Scranton
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, where he also reported the weather. At WFAA-TV
WFAA-TV
WFAA, channel 8, is an ABC-affiliated television station serving the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex, one of the top ten media markets in North America. The station is the flagship of Belo Corporation and the largest ABC affiliate not owned and operated by the network...
in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, O'Reilly was awarded the Dallas Press Club Award for excellence in investigative reporting
Investigative journalism
Investigative journalism is a form of journalism in which reporters deeply investigate a single topic of interest, often involving crime, political corruption, or corporate wrongdoing. An investigative journalist may spend months or years researching and preparing a report. Investigative journalism...
. He then moved to KMGH-TV
KMGH-TV
KMGH-TV, channel 7, is the ABC-affiliated television station in Denver, Colorado. The station itself is usually branded as "Denver's 7", but its newscasts are branded as "7 News". It broadcasts its digital signal on VHF channel 7 from a transmitter located in Golden, Colorado...
in Denver, Colorado
Denver, Colorado
The City and County of Denver is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Denver is a consolidated city-county, located in the South Platte River Valley on the western edge of the High Plains just east of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains...
where he won a local Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
for his coverage of a skyjacking. O'Reilly also worked for KATU-TV
KATU
KATU, virtual channel 2, also known as K2, is an ABC-affiliated television station broadcasting on digital channel 43 in Portland, Oregon, USA. It has been owned by Fisher Communications of Seattle, Washington, which has been the owner of the Seattle's ABC affiliate KOMO-TV, ever since it began...
in Portland, Oregon
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, as well as TV stations in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
(WFSB-TV), and in Boston, Massachusetts (WNEV-TV).
In 1980, O'Reilly anchored the local news-feature program 7:30 Magazine at WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV
WCBS-TV, channel 2, is the flagship station of the CBS television network, located in New York City. The station's studios are located within the CBS Broadcast Center and its transmitter is atop the Empire State Building, both in Midtown Manhattan....
in New York. Soon after, as a WCBS News anchor and correspondent, he won his second local Emmy for an investigation of corrupt city marshals. In 1982, he was promoted to the network as a CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
correspondent and covered the wars in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
and the Falkland Islands
Falkland Islands
The Falkland Islands are an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean, located about from the coast of mainland South America. The archipelago consists of East Falkland, West Falkland and 776 lesser islands. The capital, Stanley, is on East Falkland...
from his base in Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
. He later left CBS over a dispute concerning the uncredited use in a report by Bob Schieffer
Bob Schieffer
Bob Lloyd Schieffer is an American television journalist who has been with CBS News since 1969, serving 23 years as anchor on the Saturday edition of CBS Evening News from 1973 to 1996; chief Washington correspondent since 1982, moderator of the Sunday public affairs show Face the Nation since...
of riot footage shot by O'Reilly's crew in Buenos Aires during the Falklands conflict.
O'Reilly joined ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
as a correspondent in 1986. He delivered a eulogy for his friend Joe Spencer, an ABC News correspondent who died in a helicopter crash on January 22, 1986 en route to covering the Hormel
Hormel
Hormel Foods Corporation is a food company based in southeastern Minnesota , perhaps best known as the producer of Spam luncheon meat. The company was founded as George A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota, U.S., by George A. Hormel in 1891. The company changed its name to Hormel Foods...
meatpacker strike that day. ABC News president Roone Arledge
Roone Arledge
Roone Pickney Arledge, Jr. was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC News from 1977 until several years before his death, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks, NBC and CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.-Early...
, who attended Spencer's funeral, decided to hire O'Reilly after hearing his eulogy. At ABC, O'Reilly hosted daytime news briefs that previewed stories to be reported on the day's World News Tonight and worked as a general assignment reporter for ABC News programs, including Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
, Nightline, and World News Tonight.
O'Reilly has stated that his interest and style in media came from several CBS and ABC personalities including Mike Wallace
Mike Wallace (journalist)
Myron Leon "Mike" Wallace is an American journalist, former game show host, actor and media personality. During his 60+ year career, he has interviewed a wide range of prominent newsmakers....
, Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
, Dick Snyder
Dick Snyder
Richard J. Snyder is an American former National Basketball Association player for the St. Louis Hawks, Phoenix Suns, Seattle SuperSonics, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Snyder attended college at Davidson College, and was drafted by the Hawks in the second round of the 1966 NBA Draft...
and Peter Jennings
Peter Jennings
Peter Charles Archibald Ewart Jennings, CM was a Canadian American journalist and news anchor. He was the sole anchor of ABC's World News Tonight from 1983 until his death in 2005 of complications from lung cancer...
.
Inside Edition
In 1991, O'Reilly joined the nationally syndicated King World (now CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
) program Inside Edition
Inside Edition
Inside Edition is a thirty-minute American television syndicated news program, first aired on CBS on October 9, 1988. It was originally similar to the programs Hard Copy and A Current Affair, but now more closely resembles a condensed version of breakfast television, exclusively with pre-recorded...
, a tabloid/gossip television program in competition with A Current Affair. He became the program's anchor after the termination of David Frost
David Frost (broadcaster)
Sir David Paradine Frost, OBE is a British journalist, comedian, writer, media personality and daytime TV game show host best known for his two decades as host of Through the Keyhole and serious interviews with various political figures, the most notable being Richard Nixon...
. In addition to being one of the first American broadcasters to cover the dismantling of the Berlin Wall
Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin...
, O'Reilly also obtained the first exclusive interview with murderer Joel Steinberg
Joel Steinberg
Joel Steinberg , a former New York criminal defense attorney, attracted international media attention when he was accused of murder and convicted of manslaughter in the November 1, 1987, death of a six-year-old girl, Elizabeth , whom he and his live-in partner Hedda Nussbaum had illegally adopted...
and was the first television host from a national current affairs program on the scene of the 1992 Los Angeles riots
1992 Los Angeles riots
The 1992 Los Angeles Riots or South Central Riots, also known as the 1992 Los Angeles Civil Unrest were sparked on April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted three white and one hispanic Los Angeles Police Department officers accused in the videotaped beating of black motorist Rodney King following a...
.
Former NBC News
NBC News
NBC News is the news division of American television network NBC. It first started broadcasting in February 21, 1940. NBC Nightly News has aired from Studio 3B, located on floors 3 of the NBC Studios is the headquarters of the GE Building forms the centerpiece of 30th Rockefeller Center it is...
and CBS News
CBS News
CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. The current chairman is Jeff Fager who is also the executive producer of 60 Minutes, while the current president of CBS News is David Rhodes. CBS News' flagship program is the CBS Evening News, hosted by the network's main...
anchor Deborah Norville
Deborah Norville
Deborah Norville is an American television broadcaster and journalist. Since 1995 she has been host of the syndicated American television program Inside Edition...
replaced O'Reilly on Inside Edition in 1995; O'Reilly had expressed a desire to quit the show in July 1994. He then enrolled at the John F. Kennedy School of Government
John F. Kennedy School of Government
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University is a public policy and public administration school, and one of Harvard's graduate and professional schools...
at Harvard University in September 1995, where he received a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
in Public Administration. His graduate thesis, which he researched in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, was titled Theory of Coerced Drug Rehabilitation. In his thesis, O'Reilly asserted that supervised mandatory drug rehabilitation would reduce crime, based on the rate of prison return for criminals in Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
who enrolled in a such program.
The O'Reilly Factor
After Harvard, he was hired by Roger AilesRoger Ailes
Roger Eugene Ailes is president of Fox News Channel, chairman of the Fox Television Stations Group. Ailes was a media consultant for Republican presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, and George H. W...
, chairman and CEO of the then startup Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel
Fox News Channel , often called Fox News, is a cable and satellite television news channel owned by the Fox Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of News Corporation...
, to anchor The O'Reilly Report in October, 1996. The show was renamed The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, after O'Reilly's friend and branding expert John Tantillo
John Tantillo
John Tantillo is an American branding and marketing consultant. He is credited with coining the term The O'Reilly Factor, which later became the title of Bill O'Reilly’s television show.A graduate of St...
's remarks upon the "O'Reilly Factor" in any of the stories O'Reilly told. The program is routinely the highest-rated show of the three major U.S. 24-hour
24-hour news cycle
The 24-hour news cycle arrived with the advent of television channels dedicated to news, and brought about a much faster pace of news production with increased demand for stories that can be presented as news, as opposed to the day-by-day pace of the news cycle of printed daily newspapers...
cable news
United States cable news
Cable news refers to television channels devoted to television news broadcasts, with the name deriving from the proliferation of such networks during the 1980s with the advent of cable television. In the United States, early networks included CNN in 1980, Financial News Network in 1981, and CNN2 ...
television channels and began the trend toward more opinion-oriented prime-time cable news programming. The show is taped late in the afternoon at a studio in New York City and airs every weekday on the Fox News Channel at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and is rebroadcast at 11:00 p.m.
Until early 2009, O'Reilly hosted a radio program that had more than 3.26 million listeners and was carried by more than 400 radio stations. According to the talk radio industry publication Talkers Magazine
Talkers magazine
Talkers Magazine is a trade industry publication related to talk radio in the United States. Its slogan is "The Bible of Talk Radio and the New Talk Media"...
, O'Reilly was #11 on the "Heavy Hundred", a list of the 100 most important talk show hosts in America. Conservative Internet news site NewsMax’s "Top 25 Talk Radio Host" list selected O'Reilly to the #2 spot as most influential host in the nation.
O'Reilly's life and career have not been without controversy. Progressive
Progressivism in the United States
Progressivism in the United States is a broadly based reform movement that reached its height early in the 20th century and is generally considered to be middle class and reformist in nature. It arose as a response to the vast changes brought by modernization, such as the growth of large...
media watchdog organizations such as Media Matters
Media Matters for America
Media Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
and Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting is a progressive media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986.FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity...
have criticized O'Reilly's reporting on a variety of issues, accusing him of distorting facts and using misleading or erroneous statistics.
After the September 11 attacks, O'Reilly accused the United Way of America and American Red Cross
American Red Cross
The American Red Cross , also known as the American National Red Cross, is a volunteer-led, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief and education inside the United States. It is the designated U.S...
of failing 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 attacks. O'Reilly reported that the organizations misrepresented their intentions for the money being raised by not distributing all of the 9/11 relief fund to the victims. Actor George Clooney
George Clooney
George Timothy Clooney is an American actor, film director, producer, and screenwriter. For his work as an actor, he has received two Golden Globe Awards and an Academy Award...
accused O'Reilly of misstating facts and harming the relief effort by inciting "panic" among potential donors.
Beginning in 2005, O'Reilly periodically denounced George Tiller
George Tiller
George Richard Tiller, MD was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy .Pro-life group Operation Rescue kept a daily vigil...
, a Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
-based physician who specialized in second and third trimester abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
s, often referring to him as "Tiller the baby killer". Tiller was murdered on May 31, 2009 by Scott Roeder, an anti-abortion activist. Critics such as Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
's Gabriel Winant have asserted that O'Reilly's anti-Tiller rhetoric helped to create an atmosphere of violence around the doctor. Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote that O'Reilly "clearly went overboard in his condemnation and demonization of Tiller" but added that it was "irresponsible to link O'Reilly" to Tiller's murder. O'Reilly has responded to the criticism by saying "no backpedaling here ... every single thing we said about Tiller was true".
In early 2007, researchers from the Indiana University
Indiana University
Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...
School of Journalism published a report that analyzed O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" segment. Using analysis techniques developed in the 1930s by the Institute for Propaganda Analysis
Institute for Propaganda Analysis
The Institute for Propaganda Analysis was a U.S.-based organization composed of social scientists, opinion leaders, historians, educators, and journalists. Created in 1937 by Kirtley Mather, Edward A. Filene, and Clyde R. Miller, the IPA formed with the general concern that increased amounts of...
, the study concluded that O'Reilly used propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
, frequently engaged in name calling
Name calling
Name calling is a phenomenon studied by a variety of academic disciplines from anthropology, to child psychology, to politics. It is also studied by rhetoricians, and a variety of other disciplines that study propaganda techniques and their causes and effects...
, and consistently cast non-Americans as threats and never "in the role of victim or hero." O'Reilly responded, asserting that "the terms 'conservative,' 'liberal
Liberalism
Liberalism is the belief in the importance of liberty and equal rights. Liberals espouse a wide array of views depending on their understanding of these principles, but generally, liberals support ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections, human rights,...
,' 'left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
,' 'right
Right-wing politics
In politics, Right, right-wing and rightist generally refer to support for a hierarchical society justified on the basis of an appeal to natural law or tradition. To varying degrees, the Right rejects the egalitarian objectives of left-wing politics, claiming that the imposition of equality is...
,' 'progressive
Progressivism
Progressivism is an umbrella term for a political ideology advocating or favoring social, political, and economic reform or changes. Progressivism is often viewed by some conservatives, constitutionalists, and libertarians to be in opposition to conservative or reactionary ideologies.The...
,' 'traditional' and 'centrist
Centrism
In politics, centrism is the ideal or the practice of promoting policies that lie different from the standard political left and political right. Most commonly, this is visualized as part of the one-dimensional political spectrum of left-right politics, with centrism landing in the middle between...
' were considered name-calling if they were associated with a problem or social ill." The study's authors claimed those terms were only considered name-calling when linked to derogatory qualifiers. Fox News producer Ron Mitchell wrote an op-ed in which he accused the study's 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.
O'Reilly is the main inspiration for comedian Stephen Colbert
Stephen Colbert
Stephen Tyrone Colbert is an American political satirist, writer, comedian, television host, and actor. He is the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, a satirical news show in which Colbert portrays a caricatured version of conservative political pundits.Colbert originally studied to be an...
's satirical character
Stephen Colbert (character)
The Reverend / Sir / Dr. / Stephen T. Colbert, D.F.A., brain-child of Google, is the persona of political satirist Stephen Colbert, as portrayed on Comedy Central's The Colbert Report. Described as a "well-intentioned, poorly informed high-status idiot", the character is a self-obsessed right-wing...
on the Comedy Central
Comedy Central
Comedy Central is an American cable television and satellite television channel that carries comedy programming, both original and syndicated....
show The Colbert Report, which features Colbert in a "full-dress parody" of The O'Reilly Factor. On the show, Colbert refers to O'Reilly as "Papa Bear." O'Reilly and Colbert exchanged appearances on each others' shows in January 2007.
Speaking on ABC's Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
on March 18, 2003, O'Reilly promised that "If the Americans go in and overthrow Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
and it's clean [of weapons of mass destruction]...I will apologize to the nation, and I will not trust the Bush administration again." In another appearance on the same program on February 10, 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."
On May 10, 2008, O'Reilly was presented with the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences or NATAS was created in 1955 to advance the arts and sciences of television. Headquartered in New York, NATAS's membership is national and the organization has local chapters around the country....
Governors' Award at an Emmy awards show dinner.
Sexual harassment lawsuit
Andrea Mackris, a former producer for The O'Reilly FactorThe O'Reilly Factor
The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.The program was the most watched...
, sued O'Reilly for sexual harassment
Sexual harassment
Sexual harassment, is intimidation, bullying or coercion of a sexual nature, or the unwelcome or inappropriate promise of rewards in exchange for sexual favors. In some contexts or circumstances, sexual harassment is illegal. It includes a range of behavior from seemingly mild transgressions and...
on October 13, 2004, seeking $60 million in damages in response to a lawsuit O'Reilly filed previously that day charging Mackris for extortion, alleging that she had threatened a lawsuit unless he paid her more than $60 million. In her allegations against O'Reilly, Mackris claimed two types of legally cognizable sexual harassment claims that are not based upon physical contact: quid pro quo
Quid pro quo
Quid pro quo most often means a more-or-less equal exchange or substitution of goods or services. English speakers often use the term to mean "a favour for a favour" and the phrases with almost identical meaning include: "give and take", "tit for tat", "this for that", and "you scratch my back,...
and hostile work environment
Hostile work environment
A hostile work environment exists when an employee experiences workplace harassment and fears going to work because of the offensive, intimidating, or oppressive atmosphere generated by the harasser....
. In her lawsuit, she filed a 22-page complaint with the Supreme Court of the State of New York and produced quotations from alleged explicit phone conversations between herself and O’Reilly in which he "advised her to use a vibrator and told her about sexual fantasies involving her". On October 15, 2004, Fox sought judicial permission to fire Mackris, but she was never dismissed. On October 19, 2004, Mackris filed an amended complaint seeking further damages for illegal retaliatory actions by O'Reilly, Fox News, and the News Corporation
News Corporation
News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...
-owned newspaper, The New York Post. On October 28, 2004, O'Reilly and Mackris reached an out-of-court settlement and dropped all charges against each other. According to several published reports, as part of the settlement, O'Reilly likely paid Mackris millions of dollars, but the terms of the agreement are confidential.
Political views and public perception
O'Reilly has long said that his inspiration for speaking up for average Americans are his working-class roots. He has pointed to his boyhood home in Levittown, New YorkLevittown, New York
Levittown is a hamlet in the Town of Hempstead located on Long Island in Nassau County, New York. Levittown is midway between the villages of Hempstead and Farmingdale. As of the 2010 census, the CDP had a total population of 51,881....
as a credential. In an interview with The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
, O'Reilly's mother said that her family lived in Westbury
Westbury, New York
Westbury incorporated in 1932 as a village in Nassau County, New York in the United States. The population was 15,146 at the 2010 census.The Village of Westbury is in the Town of North Hempstead....
, which is a few miles from Levittown. Citing this interview, then liberal talk-show pundit Al Franken
Al Franken
Alan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
accused O'Reilly of distorting his background to create a more working-class image. O'Reilly countered that The Washington Post misquoted his mother, and he said his mother still lives in his childhood home, which was built by William Levitt. O'Reilly placed a copy of the house's mortgage on his website; the mortgage shows a Levittown postal address. O'Reilly has also said, "You don't come from any lower than I came from on an economic scale" and that his father--a currency accountant for an oil company-- "never earned more than $35,000 a year in his life." Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting is a progressive media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986.FAIR describes itself on its website as "the national media watch group" and defines its mission as working to "invigorate the First Amendment by advocating for greater diversity...
has calculated that adjusted for inflation
Inflation
In economics, inflation is a rise in the general level of prices of goods and services in an economy over a period of time.When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services. Consequently, inflation also reflects an erosion in the purchasing power of money – a...
, $35,000 in 1978 would be worth over $90,000 in 2001 dollars. O'Reilly responded that his father's $35,000 income only came at the end of his long career.
On The O'Reilly Factor and on his former talk-radio program, Bill O'Reilly has focused on news and commentary related to politics and culture. O'Reilly has long said that he does not identify with any political party. On December 6, 2000, The Daily News in New York reported, however, that he had been registered with the Republican Party in the state of New York since 1994. When questioned about this, he said that he was not aware of it and says he registered as an independent after the interview. During a broadcast of The Radio Factor, O'Reilly said that there was no option to register as an independent voter; however, there was in fact a box marked "I do not wish to enroll in party."
Despite being registered as an Independent, many view him as a conservative figure. A Pew Research February 2009 poll found that 66% of his television viewers identify themselves as conservative, 24% moderate, and 3% liberal. A November 2008 poll by Zogby International
Zogby International
IBOPE Zogby International is an international market research, opinion polling firm founded in 1984 by John Zogby. The company polls and consults for a wide spectrum of business media, government, and political groups, and conducts public opinion research in more than 70 countries...
found that O'Reilly was the second most trusted news personality after Rush Limbaugh.
In a 2003 interview with Terry Gross
Terry Gross
Terry Gross is the host and co-executive producer of Fresh Air, an interview format radio show produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia and distributed throughout the United States by National Public Radio....
on National Public Radio, O'Reilly said:
On a September 2007 edition of The Radio Factor
The Radio Factor
The Radio Factor was a nationally syndicated talk radio program, which aired from 2002–2009 and was hosted mainly by Bill O'Reilly. The program, which featured host commentary with a mix of listener call-in and guest segments was broadcast live every weekday from the Fox News Channel studios in...
, while having a discussion about race with fellow Fox News commentator and author Juan Williams
Juan Williams
Juan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...
about a meal he shared with Al Sharpton
Al Sharpton
Alfred Charles "Al" Sharpton, Jr. is an American Baptist minister, civil rights activist, and television/radio talk show host. In 2004, he was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the U.S. presidential election...
, O'Reilly said he "couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant
Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem
Sylvia's Restaurant of Harlem is a soul food restaurant in New York City. It was founded in 1962 by Sylvia Woods. It has since expanded to a much larger space at 328 Lenox Avenue , and an adjacent building...
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." He commented that no one in Sylvia's was "screaming M'Fer, I want more iced tea." He further added that "I think that black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves, getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons
Jesse Jackson
Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an African-American civil rights activist and Baptist minister. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as shadow senator for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997. He was the founder of both entities that merged to...
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.'" Roland S. Martin
Roland S. Martin
Roland Sebastian Martin is an American journalist and syndicated columnist with Creators Syndicate and author of Speak, Brother! A Black Man's View of America, Listening to the Spirit Within: 50 Perspectives on Faith and The First: President Barack Obama's Road to the White House as originally...
of CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
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". O'Reilly responded, 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." O'Reilly said, "Media Matters distorted the entire conversation and implied I was racist
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
for condemning racism." Juan Williams
Juan Williams
Juan Williams is an American journalist and political analyst for Fox News Channel, he was born in Panama on April 10, 1954. He also writes for several newspapers including The Washington Post, The New York Times, and The Wall Street Journal and has been published in magazines such as The Atlantic...
said the criticism of O'Reilly was “rank dishonesty” and that the original comments "had nothing to do with racist ranting by anybody except by these idiots at CNN." Williams went on to say it was "frustrating" that the media try to criticize anyone who wanted to have an honest discussion about race.
Personal life
O'Reilly married Maureen E. McPhilmy, a public relations executive. They met in 1992, and their wedding took place in St. Brigid Parish of Westbury on November 2, 1996. They have a daughter, Madeline, (born 1998) and a son, Spencer, (born 2003). O'Reilly currently resides in suburban ManhassetManhasset, New York
Manhasset is a hamlet and neighborhood in Nassau County, New York, on the North Shore of Long Island. As of the United States 2010 Census, the population was 8,080....
, New York.
Ludacris
On August 27, 2002, O'Reilly called for all Americans to boycott PepsiPepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...
products, saying that Ludacris
Ludacris
Christopher Brian Bridges , better known by his stage name Ludacris, is an American rapper and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings...
' lyrics glamorize a "life of guns, violence, drugs and disrespect of women". The next day, O'Reilly reported that Pepsi had fired Ludacris.
Three years later, this would be referenced again in the song Number One Spot
Number One Spot
For the Def Jam Recordings compilation album of the same name, see Number 1 Spot."Number One Spot" is the second single off rapper Ludacris' 2004 album The Red Light District...
.
In an interview with RadarOnline.com in 2010, Ludacris stated that they had made amends after a conversation between the two at a charity event.
Akon
Political commentators Michelle MalkinMichelle Malkin
Michelle Malkin is an American conservative blogger, political commentator, and author. Her weekly syndicated column appears in a number of newspapers and websites. She is a Fox News Channel contributor and has been a guest on MSNBC, C-SPAN, and national radio programs...
, Laura Ingraham
Laura Ingraham
Laura Anne Ingraham is an American radio host, author, and conservative political commentator. Her nationally syndicated talk show, The Laura Ingraham Show, airs throughout the United States on Talk Radio Network...
, and O'Reilly criticized Akon
Akon
Aliaune Damala Badara Thiam, better known as simply Akon , is a Senegalese American R&B recording artist and songwriter.According to Forbes, Akon grossed $21 million in 2010, $20 million in 2009 and $12 million in 2008. He rose to prominence in 2004 following the release of "Locked Up", the first...
for "degrading women." Malkin uploaded commentary about Akon to YouTube, using footage from music videos and the Trinidad concert, and Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
then forced its removal by issuing a DMCA
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
takedown notice.
The Electronic Frontier Foundation
Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation is an international non-profit digital rights advocacy and legal organization based in the United States...
joined Malkin in contesting the removal as a misuse of copyright law, citing fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
. In May 2007, UMG rescinded its claim to the video, and the video returned to YouTube.
Joy Behar/Whoopi Goldberg
On October 14, 2010, Joy BeharJoy Behar
Josephina Victoria "Joy" Behar is an American comedian, writer, actress, and a co-host of the talk show The View. Behar has a commentary program, entitled The Joy Behar Show, on CNN's sister network, HLN...
and Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg
Whoopi Goldberg is an American comedian, actress, singer-songwriter, political activist, author and talk show host.Goldberg made her film debut in The Color Purple playing Celie, a mistreated black woman in the Deep South. She received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won...
walked off the set of The View after they both disagreed with statements made by O'Reilly, specifically O'Reilly's statement, "Muslims killed us on 9/11." Barbara Walters then told the audience, "We should be able to have discussion without . . . walking off stage."
Writings by O'Reilly
O'Reilly has authored ten books:(Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list.) (Best-selling nonfiction children's book of 2005) (Reached #1 on the New York Times' Non-Fiction Best Seller list; Achieved more than one million copies in print in its first three months)
In addition, O'Reilly writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column that appears in numerous newspapers, including the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
and the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
.