Olbermann named O'Reilly "Worst Person" for establishing "Hall of Shame" for media that "smear" him
Keith Olbermann named Bill O'Reilly the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for establishing the "Hall of Shame," a new segment on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor in which O'Reilly purportedly points out media outlets that engage in personal attacks and use "smear" tactics.
On the April 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named Fox News' Bill O'Reilly the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for establishing the Bill O'Reilly "Hall of Shame," a new segment on Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor in which O'Reilly purportedly points out media outlets that engage in personal attacks and use "smear" tactics. As Media Matters for America noted, O'Reilly debuted the segment on the April 24 edition of the Factor by citing the Dayton Daily News and the Post-Standard of Syracuse, New York, as examples of newspapers that have allegedly "smeared" him in recent weeks. After inducting the newspapers into the billoreilly.com "Hall of Shame," O'Reilly proclaimed: "[B]eginning today, the smear stops here."
Olbermann noted the hypocrisy of O'Reilly's "hall of shame," pointing out that O'Reilly himself often uses similar tactics to those he criticizes and said that O'Reilly is now using the segment to defame newspapers simply because he "didn't like what they wrote." Olbermann concluded the segment by asking: "You are going to stop smearing people? How are you going to fill an hour every night, Bill? Reruns of The Jetsons?"
From the April 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown:
OLBERMANN: But our winner, Bill O.'s coming to a boil again. His latest mortal enemy, the newspaper, the Syracuse Post-Standard, which wrote about him -- blah blah blah -- we get it. You didn't like what they wrote. He's inducted them into the new Bill O'Reilly "Hall of Shame." Now, the Countdown "Hall of Fame" would sue but, heck, if anybody is an expert on shame, it's Bill O'Reilly, so we'll let this one pass. But he also says, quote, "Beginning today, the smear stops here." You are going to stop smearing people? How are you going to fill an hour every night, Bill? Reruns of The Jetsons? Bill O'Reilly, today's Worst Person in the World.
From the April 24 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight. Fighting the culture war in the media, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."
There's no question, the committed left-wing media hates Fox News, along with me and some other commentators here because we provide a balance to the overwhelming secular presence in the media.
Now, every poll of journalists says the same thing. Secular media people outnumber traditional media people by a huge margin. And some left-wing media companies aggressively push their agenda in their news pages.
That is not acceptable, because the press in America is afforded special constitutional privileges. Thus, we have an obligation to be fair and balanced.
For a number of years, some media people have been using personal attacks and smears to try to marginalize people with whom they disagree. They do this because they can't win the debate. So, they try to demean and demoralize their opposition.
Well, that's no longer tolerable. And the Factor's now going to launch a campaign to hold these smear merchants accountable. You may remember a few weeks ago, the Factor investigated Ohio Judge John Connor, who sentenced a child rapist to probation, no prison time whatsoever.
The attorney general and governor of Ohio supported the evidence we presented that Connor is unfit to serve. Well, the Dayton Daily News didn't like that. It smeared the three of us. Thousands of you called that newspaper to complain. And it was badly damaged.
Then, a couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Syracuse, New York, to give a speech in support of the Boy Scouts, who had been thrown off the campus of Syracuse University after the ACLU [American Civil Liberties Union] complained.
For my trouble, I was smeared twice by the Syracuse Post-Standard. The villains at that paper are publisher Stephen Rogers and editorial writer Mark Libbon. These men are not only unprofessional, they are incompetent.
Over the past few years, the Post-Standard's circulation has declined nearly 30 percent. It is a disgraceful newspaper, nicknamed "substandard" by some in upstate New York.
Now, we've posted contact numbers for Rogers and Libbon on billoreilly.com, should you want to speak with them.
And that is what we'll continue to do. Any media person who uses smear tactics in any way, not just on me, but any way will be featured on The Factor and inducted into the billoreilly.com "Hall of Shame."
We will keep a running list of media smear merchants on the website, in addition to our "don't buy, don't advertise" list.
As you know, we debate issues all day long on this program. I have no objection to any media criticizing my stand on any matters of the day. But beginning today, the smear stops here.
You guys want to do that? We'll let everybody know about it. That's called accountability.
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I'd be proud of or to be the first member of this "Hall of Shame".
There is a reason Bill won't mention what, exactly, the Post-Standard and the Daily News said about him that constituted a "smear":
They wrote about his legal troubles with Andrea Mackris.
My understanding is that Bill cannot discuss the case as part of his settlement. It must make him CRAZY that he can't spin his way out of it; it must drive him NUTS when Olbermann makes falafel and loofah jokes and Bill can't respond.
The fact that all of the evidence that has been made public is so damning - combined with the fact that he vowed to fight the lawsuit to the end, then settled it - makes Bill look awfully guilty of behavior that is far worse than any dalliance of Bill Clinton's.
This little tirade is Bill's way of trying to bully the media into not reporting his alleged perversions. Funny thing is, he's only making it worse on himself - he's inviting derision.
People like this can't stay in their world of denial forever - something is going to give, and give soon. Bullies like O'Reilly can't help but engage in their self-destructive behavior.
When he finally loses it, watch out - it'll be ugly. And then he will go the way of Morton Downey, Jr.
I'd almost feel sorry for him if he wasn't such an obnoxious jerk.
One of the guys who "smeared" him is completely innocent of the charge. How do I know this?
Because Stephen Rogers died on November 12, 2002.
Having a guy like O'Reilly talk about smearing is as absurd as George Bush telling the country that we have an addiction to oil.
This is scary--If you look at the current contact list for the Post-Standard, he is still there.
EDITORIAL MANAGEMENT
Stephen A. Rogers, Editor and Publisher: 315-470-2223
Maybe you just get his old answering machine...
But, maybe he responds from beyond!!!
I don't think my long-distance plan covers trans-dimensional communication.
off
thought.
There should be a way for MMFA to have posts to the board clean up after themselves.
Fair and balanced? Secular media? Notice how he throws that in there to get the religous zealot support. This guy makes a living smearing people and attacking them personally. Well too bad the smearing is coming home to roost with gigantor man.
B.O. must list himself in his Hall Of Shame for smearing his own audience. When an audience member calls into the Radio Factor, mentions Olbermann's name and subsequently gets lambasted as a trouble maker and law breaker. The fact that he would envoke local authorities to hastle someone for exercising their freedom of speech warrants an induction into any Hall/Wall/or even Mall of Shame!
I am really over this whole Olbermann naming O'reilly the worst person. I mean, I can see how it may have been clever or, perhaps, funny initially but it is so played out now.