Bunker Mulligan "Let us endeavor so to live that when we come to die even the undertaker will be sorry." ~Mark Twain

July 29, 2004

O’Reilly

Filed under: Media — Bunker @ 10:05 am

Neal Boortz has some interesting things to say about the DNC convention today. But one thing really caught my eye:

I ran into some lower-level Fox News Channel staffers yesterday. They thanked me for spilling the beans on O’Reilly. He’s universally despised. I’m told that an edition of the “Factor” rarely ends without O’Reilly singling out some hapless Fox or Foxette for an obscenity-laden tongue lashing.

Neal confirms what I’ve suspected for some time. I once watched O’Reilly every night. In the last 18 months or so, though, he’s become far more self-obsessed. I even sent him an email a couple of times warning him he was becoming the new Geraldo. Every show is a tribute to himself.

That’s too bad. At one time he offered a reasonable debate on issues which had somehow slipped through the fingers of others in the media. He got more and more into National Enquirer quality material, and is just far too self-promoting to suit my taste. His “Ridiculous Item of the Day” became “How can I pretend to make fun of myself while hawking some trinkets?” Every show has become more about him than the topics or guests.

He once provided a place where honest discussion took place, unlike the shows where people yell at one another. No more.

2 Comments

  1. We catch him often on Fox. He makes good points, but I agree with your assesment. And….I don’t like to listen to anyone who keeps interrupting his guests.. be he liberal or conservative.

    Comment by Wallace-Midland, Texas — July 29, 2004 @ 10:19 pm

  2. I know, it will be a complete shock to hear that I completely agree with you on this one ;).

    There was a time my husband and I watched him every evening without fail. We looked forward to hearing the debates and talking about our own views regarding the subjects he’d discuss. However, as you mentioned, it seems as though the show has changed over the past year and a half. HE is the most important aspect of his show instead of the topics he covers being the important aspects.

    What soured me the most was the Boortz/O’Reilly exchange when O’Reilly called him a vicious SOB on air. It became apparent at that moment (even though I’d noticed prior to that) O’Reilly was more interested in himself – and he has a very fragile ego. He’d met his match with Mr. Boortz – he knew he had – and he cracked.

    It’s no surprise to me that he trips over his ego and berates subordinates. I’ve often thought you could find the true character of a person by watching how they interact with coworkers. How one treats the lowest person on the ladder says more about how much salt they are worth than how someone treats an equal or their superior…

    Comment by Shannon — August 1, 2004 @ 12:32 am

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