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William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10 1949 ) is an American Commentator , Editor , Author , syndicated Columnist , and Journalist . While his work frequently appears on television, radio and in the print media, O'Reilly is best known as the host of the Cable Television editorial program '' The O'Reilly Factor '', broadcast on the Fox News Channel . Between 2003 and 2005, it ranked 1st among the most watched cable programs, averaging 2.2 million viewers daily in 2005. 1. ''The O'Reilly Factor'' offers O'Reilly's often opinionated point of view on national and international events through his self-described "no-nonsense" commentary and interviews.

O'Reilly also hosts a radio program syndicated by Westwood One entitled ''The Radio Factor'', and has written five books of his own social-political views. One is a novel, '' Those Who Trespass ''. The four non-fiction books, including ''The O'Reilly Factor'' and ''The No Spin Zone'', have all reached number one on ''The New York Times'' Best Seller List . His views are frequent sources of controversy in various media outlets, including his own programs.


PERSONAL BACKGROUND


Early Life

O'Reilly was born in {Link without Title} {Link without Title} .

After graduating from the elite, private 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 punter2 on the school's Football intramural team, and also was a columnist and features 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 . 3 O'Reilly went on to receive his master's degree from Boston University's college of communications. 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 . O'Reilly received his Bachelor Of Arts in 1971.

O'Reilly married Maureen McPhilmy, 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 them "stealth Paparazzi ". 4 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.


Broadcasting career

After graduating from Marist, O'Reilly moved to Miami , Florida , where he taught English and history at age 21 for two years. After leaving Miami, O'Reilly returned to school, earning a Masters 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 reviewer for '' The Miami Herald ''.

, 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 . O'Reilly also worked for KATU-TV in Portland , Oregon , as well as TV stations in Hartford , Connecticut , and in Boston , Massachusetts 5.

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. (In 1998, a novel by O'Reilly, ''Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder'', was published, in which a television reporter has a similar dispute over a Falklands War report and proceeds to exact his revenge on network staff in a series of graphically described violent ritualistic murders {Link without Title} ).

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 Award s 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'' and 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, Roger Ailes , chairman and CEO of the then startup FOX News Channel, hired O'Reilly to anchor ''The O'Reilly Report'', which aired weeknights. 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''

See Also: The O'Reilly Factor



O'Reilly's television show, ''The O'Reilly Factor'', is routinely one of the highest-rated shows of the three major American 24-hour cable news channels (.

On the air since the advent of the Fox News Channel in 1996, ''The Factor'' gained its popularity in the late 1990's through O'Reilly's reporting on the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky Scandal .

=O'Reilly's political beliefs and point of view=

O'REILLY'S SELF-DESCRIPTION

O'Reilly disagrees with a common claim that he is a conservative, preferring to call himself a traditionalist and a Populist . 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."
O'Reilly describes much of his work as a non-partisan approach to politics and analysis.

VIEWS REGARDED AS CONSERVATIVE

  • His stances on American foreign policy (the War In Iraq )

  • Supports using the American military to enforce the United States-Mexico border

  • Supported a measure to stop the and criticized Sweden for legalizing civil unions. ---He has also falsely claimed that Sweden has legalized same-sex marriage, and that a study (which he cannot find sources to back up) has shown that marriage has collapsed in that country. {Link without Title}

  • Argued in favor of death penalty. {Link without Title}

  • Opposes the Estate Tax ,

  • Supports a Flat Tax ,

  • Opposes homosexuals in the military,

  • Opposes Affirmative Action ,

  • Supports Intelligent Design taught in public schools,

  • Supports domestic surveillance programs,

  • Supports banning most forms of Abortion ,

  • Supports the concept of Global Warming and that humans are causing it,

  • Supports deporting Illegal Immigrants

  • O'Reilly is an outspoken opponent of former president in comparison to Reno, whom he called the worst attorney general in history. {Link without Title}

  • He has also said that he does not believe voters should any longer trust the Democratic party, and summed up his opinion with the following statement: "The truth is that the Democratic party has been hijacked by the far left and really can't persuade anyone anymore." {Link without Title}



EVIDENCE THAT IMPLIES HE'S CONSERVATIVE

  • He said that he was an Independent voter on his January 10 , 2000 show. 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" 6.






  • In September 2004, the CBS news program '' 60 Minutes '' described ''The O'Reilly Factor'' as "must-see-TV for the conservative right."



  • Though O'Reilly has stated that he does not endorse politicians for office, 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 7. O'Reilly also urged his listeners on ''The Radio Factor'' to vote against Democratic Senator Tom Daschle in the 2004 Senate Election 8 In 2003 O'Reilly urged the voters of California to recall governor Grey Davis , stating, "The corrupt Democratic machine has to go," and urging them to vote for Arnold Schwarzenegger {Link without Title} . 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 9.


  • O'Reilly has explained that some of these relationships were inadvertent on his part, such as when Republican Congressman Chris Shays asked him to speak at a charity benefit in Greenwich , Connecticut, without telling him that it was for a Republican-backed cause.

  • He also vigorously opposed the removal of Terri Schiavo 's feeding tube, claiming that "no one should trust" Michael Schiavo 10,


  • Has also vigorously defended controversial statements by Rick Santorum that homosexuality should be outlawed, saying that people who criticized Santorum for these statements are "the real haters, witch hunters and we're watching them very closely" 11. However, he did point out that he didn't agree with Mr. Santorum, but believed his criticisms from the press were too exploitive and unfair.


  • In addition, critics feel that ''The O'Reilly Factor'' too frequently features conservative commentators such as Gingrich, and spends most of its broadcast time criticizing left-leaning politicians, organizations, and newspaper columnists who in turn spend a lot of their time criticizing him. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} O'Reilly defends his primary focus on the "far-left" and progressives because he feels that the "progressives, not conservatives, want to curtail the Free Speech of those with whom they disagree" 12.



VIEWS REGARDED AS MODERATE

  • Supports placing higher taxes on vehicles that consume more gas

  • Support for President Clinton's opposition to Slobodan Milošević

  • Support of low taxes

  • He supports voter-decided marriage definitions whether Homosexual , Polyamory

  • Has shown some support for gay adoption

  • Opposes Prostitution on grounds of "laziness" rather than any moral problem with it 13

  • O'Reilly recently sided with parents who were against reinstating the Transgendered teacher, Lily McBeth , to the Eagleswood Elementary School in New Jersey. In an ''O'Reilly Factor'' interview, Mark Schnepp, a parent at the school said the talk on the playground was "about how much it would hurt to have your penis cut off" {Link without Title} .

  • O'Reilly's position on "extremists" in politics is divided between the "far left" and "far right". He personally considers "Nazis American [http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,138132,00.html .



VIEWS REGARDED AS LIBERAL

  • Criticism of free-market economics in the oil industry and support for a windfall profits tax on oil companies

  • He opposes Corporal Punishment for children (i.e. spanking)

  • O'Reilly said in a 2003 NPR interview that he favored "decriminalization of Marijuana ." {Link without Title}



EVIDENCE THAT IMPLIES HE'S LIBERAL

  • ''60 Minutes'' said that some of O'Reilly's views "sound more like they're coming from a Democrat", noting his views on Gun Control and same-sex civil unions, the adoption of children by gay parents (which he supports as a "last resort"), and Global Warming (which he considers an established fact.) {Link without Title}


=Controversies=
Main article: Bill O'Reilly Controversies


Over the years, there have been several ongoing controversial issues highlighted in O'Reilly's print and broadcast work. O'Reilly has been accused by various media personalities and groups of spreading misinformation, showing pompous and aggressive behavior, and portraying biased viewpoints as fact. He has been involved in many disputes with figures and sources including Al Franken , Keith Olbermann , Media Matters , Neal Boortz , and various Iraq War critics.

=Sexual harassment lawsuit=
On by numerous individuals, publications and websites. {Link without Title} {Link without Title} {Link without Title}

On October 19 , Mackris filed an amended complaint, providing further details of O'Reilly's alleged sexual harassment, asking for additional damages, noting no formal O'Reilly denial, and describing alleged actions of retaliation by Fox, et.al., for filing her original complaint. Mackris claimed to reveal a partial transcript of a telephone call (thought to be based on an alleged unreleased audio tape [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7578-2004Oct28.html [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A34312-2004Oct15.html]) in which O'Reilly allegedly made lewd sexual suggestions towards her. Fox contended that Mackris was still on payroll without appearance for over two weeks and moved for court permission to dismiss Mackris.

On October 28 , Mackris' case was settled out of court when O'Reilly agreed to pay her an undisclosed sum 16; both parties withdrew their claims of wrongdoing, and agreed to keep the terms of settlement confidential. 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".




=References=

=External links=


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