Scarborough: Fox's coverage of O'Reilly's comments suggests he "has nothing to do with" controversy
SUMMARY: In a discussion on MSNBC's Morning Joe of Bill O'Reilly's response to criticism of his controversial statement about dining at a Harlem restaurant, host Joe Scarborough noted, "I don't think that we're mischaracterizing it at all to say O'Reilly was surprised that a restaurant run by people of color was almost just like a normal restaurant." Scarborough also observed that "Fox has been coming up with some pretty, pretty crazy banners" describing the controversy that suggest "Bill O'Reilly has nothing to do with this at all. He didn't cause this at all."
On the September 26 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe, host Joe Scarborough, co-anchor Mika Brzezinski, and MSNBC correspondent Willie Geist discussed Fox News host Bill O'Reilly's response to criticism of his recent statement, documented by Media Matters for America, that "I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant [in Harlem] and any other restaurant in New York City. It was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks [and has a] primarily black patronship." Scarborough noted that he had discussed O'Reilly's comments on the previous day's edition of Morning Joe and responded: "I don't think that we're mischaracterizing it at all to say O'Reilly was surprised that a restaurant run by people of color was almost just like a normal restaurant." Scarborough added that O'Reilly "didn't mean to be racist, it just shows that his worldview is so closed that, apparently, he has not been in ethnic neighborhoods in the past." Scarborough also noted Fox News' reaction to the criticism of O'Reilly, noting at one point that "Fox has been coming up with some pretty, pretty crazy banners" for on-screen text to describe the story and highlighted several of them, including one stating "CNN gets suckered by website." Scarborough added, "Of course, Bill O'Reilly has nothing to do with this at all. He didn't cause this at all."
Discussing O'Reilly's charge that he was taken out of context, Geist highlighted O'Reilly's comment during his discussion of Sylvia's on September 19 that "I went to the concert by Anita Baker at Radio City Music Hall, and the crowd was 50/50, black/white, and the blacks were well-dressed," Scarborough responded: "[W]e don't want to distort Bill O'Reilly's words at all, especially when you talk about racial issues, but I think, for instance, again, looking at the totality of it all ... why does Bill O'Reilly even feel the need to tell us that people at the Anita Baker concert that were people of color were well-dressed?"
Additionally, discussing Fox News' response to CNN and NBC's coverage of O'Reilly's comments, Scarborough noted that on-screen text during the September 26 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends First read: "CNN suckered by leftist website," adding, "[T]he banners that Fox News is spitting out on this Bill O'Reilly thing is -- it's just great. It's like, 'CNN suckered by leftist website.' Of course, this is the network that reports and lets you decide."
Later in the show, Scarborough again discussed with show producer Chris Licht on-screen text that appeared during Fox & Friends First, saying "distorting the truth, O'Reilly taken out of context" and "BillOReilly.com for the real story." Commenting on these on-screen captions, Scarborough stated: "Of course, Bill O'Reilly has nothing to do with this at all. He didn't cause this at all."
From the September 26 edition of MSNBC's Morning Joe:
SCARBOROUGH: Speaking of nuclear: Bill O'Reilly. Now, we played that unfortunate clip of Mr. O'Reilly yesterday, and apparently he has declared war now against CNN.
BRZEZINSKI: What? Against CNN?
GEIST: Yup. We listened to it twice. It sounded pretty indefensible, but Mr. O'Reilly went on the air defending himself. He called us smear merchants at MSNBC, but --
BRZEZINSKI: Smear merchants?
GEIST: Yeah, but his focus last night was with CNN and Rick Sanchez, who I guess a couple days ago took some time away from being Tasered to address this issue, and he -- he got a phone call yesterday from O'Reilly, who basically chewed him out for running the piece and for criticizing him about these comments that he made about his little trip up to Harlem to Sylvia's restaurant.
SCARBOROUGH: And in that trip, I don't think that we're mischaracterizing it at all to say O'Reilly was surprised that a restaurant run by people of color was almost just like a normal restaurant.
BRZEZINSKI: Wow.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, he really was stunned, which, again, it's one of those revealing comments. He didn't mean to be racist, it just shows that his worldview is so closed that, apparently, he has not been in ethnic neighborhoods in the past --
BRZEZINSKI: I think it is never good when you don't know --
SCARBOROUGH: -- and has not had -- how can Bill O'Reilly at 55, 56, 57 not know that people of color can run restaurants in the same way that white people can run restaurants? And really, does Bill O'Reilly need to be offended at MSNBC and CNN, or does he just need to understand he made a terrible mistake?
GEIST: There was some talk there that it was taken out of criticism -- excuse me, out of context, and we sort of listened to it on the fly. So I went and listened to the whole interview -- he was talking with Juan Williams last night, and it gets worse if you listen to the whole thing. I mean, it's exactly what you think it is.
[...]
SCARBOROUGH: I'm going to continue with the show. So, Bill O'Reilly -- the banners that Fox News is spitting out on this Bill O'Reilly thing is -- it's just great. It's like, "CNN suckered by leftist website." Of course, this is the network that reports and lets you decide.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah. But I think he would like to make his own decision about this.
SCARBOROUGH: Who would like to make what?
BRZEZINSKI: Bill O'Reilly. He wants to make --
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah. He wants to decide for the rest of us.
BRZEZINSKI: -- his own world for himself.
GEIST: He's -- I just read that he's going to have Sharpton on his radio show today.
BRZEZINSKI: What?
SCARBOROUGH: I cannot wait to hear what Al Sharpton says about Bill O'Reilly being shocked that African-Americans can run restaurants the same way that white people can run restaurants after Al Sharpton's past with Don Imus.
BRZEZINSKI: You know, sometimes when you say something stupid, you should just say, "I said something stupid."
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah.
GEIST: And as you know, Sharpton is the guy who was out to dinner at Sylvia's with O'Reilly, so I'm sure O'Reilly is bringing him on to help him explain what he was talking about. But O'Reilly's spokesperson did release a short statement that said Sharpton was shocked that O'Reilly was shocked that black people know how to run a restaurant. So, might be --
SCARBOROUGH: A lot of shocking going on. But I wonder he's going to call for O'Reilly to be taken off the air like he did with Don Imus.
BRZEZINSKI; Yeah, interesting.
SCARBOROUGH: Maybe the takeaway here is that if Don Imus had said what he said while Al Sharpton was a guest, he'd still be on TV.
BRZEZINSKI: OK, yeah, I'm seeing that.
GEIST: And we'd be sleeping a lot later.
BRZEZINSKI: Yeah, really.
SCARBOROUGH: Yeah, a lot later. A lot later. Thank you, Al.
[...]
SCARBOROUGH: So, this O'Reilly thing, it's really -- it's getting ugly between CNN and Fox right now. And, Chris, I understand that Fox has been spending their time coming up with pretty -- pretty crazy banners.
LICHT: Yeah, well, you know, they're making their point -- "Distorting the truth," "O'Reilly taken out of context," "Bill O'Reilly.com, go there for the real story."
SCARBOROUGH: That's a good banner.
LICHT: And "Distorting the truth: CNN gets suckered by website."
SCARBOROUGH: "CNN gets suckered by website." Of course, Bill O'Reilly has nothing to do with this at all.
BRZEZINSKI: He didn't cause this.
SCARBOROUGH: He didn't cause this at all. I understand the restaurant owners at Sylvia's very upset and believe that it was inappropriate. Let's go, though -- and let's go to [NBC West Coast correspondent] John Larson. He has a report on the O'Reilly dustup, and he did this on the Today show, and let's run it now, talking a about a little bit of background on the story.
[begin video clip]
O'REILLY: This is dishonest and dangerous.
LARSON: he'd been silent about it for days, but Tuesday night on The O'Reilly Factor, the host spoke out.
O'REILLY: Media Matters distorted the entire conversation and implied I was racist for condemning racism.
LARSON: At issue: whether O'Reilly's radio comments last week about his visit to Sylvia's, a Harlem restaurant, were racist.
O'REILLY [audio clip]: And I 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. It was the same. It was like going into an Italian restaurant in an all-white suburb in the sense of people were sitting there and they were ordering and having fun.
LARSON: The debate sparked when his comments were reported by mediamatters.org. O'Reilly went on:
O'REILLY [audio clip]: I think black Americans are starting to think more and more for themselves, and they're getting away from the Sharptons and the Jacksons and the people trying to lead them into a race-based culture.
LARSON: Which was a bit odd, seeing as how Al Sharpton was O'Reilly's dinner guest that night at the Harlem restaurant.
SHARPTON: He and I have had dinner in Harlem before, and I've never heard these comments, which is why I don't understand what this is all about. He didn't say anything offensive that night.
LARSON: He says it's a hatchet job, that if you listen to his entire commentary, he was arguing against racism to his audience.
O'REILLY: It was the same. And that's really what this society is all about now here in the USA. There's no difference. It has nothing to do with the color of anybody's skin.
LARSON: Finally, at Sylvia's, where this began, patrons last night appreciated the barbecue, gumbo, and maybe some Sugar Hill beer -- but not O'Reilly's comments.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It wasn't appropriate.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Does he expect anything different from black folk than white folk?
LARSON: For Today, John Larson, NBC News, Los Angeles.
SCARBOROUGH: All right, thank you, John Larson. And, after, of course, watching that, they all ran home and watched The Factor because O'Reilly said they're all big Factor fans.
GEIST: Yes, they all watch The Factor.
SCARBOROUGH: So, we're getting e-mails from people which say, "Joe, put this in perspective," which we are, and you've looked through the transcript --
GEIST: I've listened to it --
SCARBOROUGH: -- and you've listened, so put it in perspective after hearing the whole entire thing.
GEIST: Well, here's the argument, Joe. The argument is Bill O'Reilly is making a broader point about gangsta rap and hip-hop culture. And the point is he's against that, obviously. He points to people like Ludacris and Snoop Dogg -- he uses his name over and over. And he's using the people at Sylvia's as an example that most black Americans do not adhere to hip-hop gangsta rap culture. He's saying it's played by the media as mainstream black culture -- that is, gangsta rap hip-hop culture, but it's actually not. Most black people are like the people you find at Sylvia's and places like that. So, with -- that's the broader context. He's trying to make the point. But when he gives these specific examples, it gets worse and worse. So actually, the more context you hear, the worse it gets. He talks about going to an Anita Baker concert where the audience was 50-50, half white, half black, and he pointed out that the black people were, quote ,"well dressed." So, the more you hear, the worse it gets.
SCARBOROUGH: And, again, he said that Sylvia's restaurant was a good restaurant, quote, "even though" it was run by blacks.
BRZEZINSKI: The restaurant manager, who's Sylvia's granddaughter, says it was very insulting. And another one says it's commonplace for O'Reilly. It's his position -- an overview of the world."
SCARBOROUGH: Well -- the thing is, we don't want to distort Bill O'Reilly's words at all, especially when you talk about racial issues, but I think, for instance, again, looking at the totality of it all [inaudible] why does Bill O'Reilly even feel the need to tell us that people at the Anita Baker concert that were people of color were well-dressed?
GEIST: Right.
SCARBOROUGH: As if that was breaking news.
BRZEZINSKI: Yup.
GEIST: And the more defensive he is about it, the more -- you know, as he defends it more and more, you realize that he doesn't understand maybe exactly what he said and that perhaps his views are a little bit old-fashioned.
SCARBOROUGH: Well, that's a nice way to put it, and that makes it even more troubling.
Coming soon, O'Reilly declares war against Scarborough for going over to the dark side with MMFA and CNN.
Hmm, it's interesting that O'Reilly hasn't even mentioned Scarborough, especially when his morning show has had some of the most virulent criticism of these dumb remarks. I don't think O'Reilly will- because it would blow his extreme left excuses.
And what's going on with Joe lately? He's been just terrific on a lot of issues.
I agree with you about Scarborough. I've been watching Morning Joe and it seems like Scarborough is a clear thinker. He IS still conservative, but he isn't a kook like Hannity or Limbaugh. The guy knows right from wrong.
He's straightened out his act as of late. But I remember when he said that Michael Moore called for more troops to die in Iraq, when Moore said nothing of the kind. Scarborough took part of a sentence in Moores on line newsletter and cropped it so it would say that. His dishonesty was the most blatent I had ever seen outside of Fox "News."
He wants to keep his job at MSNBC. He has to be anti OReilly . I have no trust for this man, in 2003 he was the number one cheerleader on MSNBC for this war. He has no credibility and is a liar.
1. Ten posts in one day on O'Reilly?? "Conservative misinformation" must not be much of a problem in the media if MM can dedicate so much time to this.
2. MM is soooo obviously trying to drive O'Reilly off the air. This whole episode is pretty pathetic. The fact that the MSM is actually trotting out this story, while ignoring similar episodes from liberals, goes to show that, indeed, there is a deep and pervasive liberal bias in the media.
Ignoring WHAT "similar" incidents form liberals?
And by who?
As to "driving O'Reilly off the air," only Roger Ailes can do that, and he won't, since O'LIE-ly is their biggest ratings whore.
O'Reilly obviously totally screwed up.
His comment wasn't overtly racist, like Hal Turner is.
But it was driven by prejudice.
O'Reilly was expecting a "typical black restaurant," and instead he saw a real one.
Also don't forget O'Reilly is the same jerk who said about a black boys' choir that he "expected to see them stealing humbcaps."
This shows O'Reilly, like Bush, lives in a bubble, and anything outside the bubble he is ignorant of at best.
Shoes has been saying the same thing all day. His pair is just two right feet.
"expected to see them stealing humbcaps."
He never said that. Please get your facts correct. Thank you.
"Does anyone know where the Best Men are? I hope they're not in the parking lot stealing our hubcaps."
Oh yes, that's so much less offensive.
Shoe, I'm upset about this too. I think that 10 lousy stories from MMFA can't possibly be enough to cover O'Reilly's crimes.
Yes, I said crimes.
Shoes, instead of whining about the number of post and how the liberals want to drive Bill off the air I have a questions for you. You seem to indicate with your post that you find nothing that Bill said in his statement offensive.
1. What did you and Bill mean when you said African Americans were starting to think for themselves? Why would you and Bill think that out of a population of over 39 million African Americans we just started in 2007 to think for ourselves? Who did the thinking for us before then and where is your proof?
2 Can I assume that both you and Bill were and I quote "I 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." Why couldn't you and Bill get over the fact? Do African Americans have a history of being unable to create fine dining establishments? Do African Americans not have the ability to use a knife and a fork? Do African Americans not have the ability to sit at a table with china and tablecloths?
3.Should one assume that in the other black restaurants that you and Bill have dined in the patrons were using curse words such as described by both you and Bill as There wasn't one person in Sylvia's who was screaming, 'M-Fer, I want more iced tea.' ?
Since you feel it's your duty to stop those who want to "remove" Bill from the airwaves and you obviously find nothing wrong with what he said please explain the statements. Neither you nor Bill have bothered to explain exactly what you meant by those words. If I as an 73 year old African American woman is to assume that this is a compliment, please please tell me what part of the statements I should be happy and please by?
Lawdy, lawdy, Mizz Pearlene... don't you know Uncle Bill was just trying to compliment y'all for actin' right?
Sorry for the lampoon, Pearlene, but this is absolutely amazing to hear ignorant comments like O'Reilly's, a national media personality, in the year 2007. And, yes, I actually believe Billo thought he was paying black folks in that restaurant a compliment for actin' right. How insulting...
Irony, I'm taking full advantage cause Bill told me I can think for my self. ;-)
Hi Pearlene! I think Shoes went down for its nap rather than try to back up its dopey points, so let me answer your questions for it;
"10 items on BO? That must mean there is no conservative misinformation.I guess this proves that the media is liberal."
Sorry, I had to stay in character.
HBL, I'm sooo confused. I don't whether to laugh, cry, curse or drink. This is such a new experience "thinking for myself". ;-)
Which one of those 10 threads calls for O'Reilly to be taken off the air? NONE of them? YOU are a joke
I think MM uses transcripts and actual video as illustrations of the hypocritical nature of anyone in the media. Am I right? They have hit the Washington Post and New York Times pretty often when they ignore the facts. It's just the right wing media make crap up at a higher rate than the "Liberal Biased" side.
Hmmm how interesting. OReilly gets caught with his pants down and every one on the far right defends him right or wrong. I do not know that much about Joe, but on this one, he is absolutely correct. AND, by the way, every time OReilly quotes himself about his discussion with Sharpton, he leaves out the most racist, the most disgusting part of his conversation, the tail end of his nasty speech, . Remember? No one (at the restaurant) was saying "m-fer". Although not a direct quote, nevertheless, OReilly 's words not mine. To leave this comment off is to tell an outright lie about what he said. Nice try Bill but remember some of us can listen to the tape and we are not giving you a pass on your racist comments.
"MM is soooo obviously trying to drive O'Reilly off the air."
No, O'Reilly is trying to drive himself off the air. Why would anyone be surprised that black people act normal if they weren't a racist?
I am a racist... I say racist things... I am IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE for remarks, criticisms, and reactions to my racist remarks... logic by scarborough...
Will this ever end? Will someone please show O'Reilly for what he is. What he said is terrible, but does anyone listen to the credit he takes for running the world? He catches the bad guys, and he runs the war. Oops.I'm sorry. THE FACTOR DOES!
Come on Joe ,Mika Willie, and Chris. You know you guys have the chutzpah to stop this mad man.
GEIST: "...perhaps his (O'Reilly's) views are a little bit old-fashioned."
Yes, and perhaps Willie Geist has also just described the average FOX viewer. Sometimes you have to wonder what year these people are living in?
It seems like O'Reilly has an Archie Bunker view of the world but the problem with this view is that it's 2007.
Joe has definitely undergone growth since he started on MSNBC. He's still a conservative but he's moved a little more toward the middle. I don't consider him as bad as Coulter, O'Reilly, Hannity, etc. Unfortunately, conservatives on right-wing blogs see him like we see Alan Colmes--as some sort of sell-out, I guess because Joe doesn't always tow the Republican line all the time and can be nice to liberals sometimes.
O'Reilly has an Archie Bunker view of the world but the problem with this view is that it's 2007.
No the real problem is Archie Bunker was funny a caricature really a --- ummm -- was I describing Archie or Bill. Nevermind. Bill Bunker, as I will now call him, has pausible deniability on this one. Truthfully, I think he meant no harm he thought he was giving a compliment. And that is the really sad thing.
"...he meant no harm he thought he was giving a compliment. And that is the really sad thing."
Once again demonstrating that Billo is totally devoid of credibility. A fifty-something year old man who goes into a black restaurant for the first time and discovers that people aren't yelling "Hey, motherf*cker!" and acting like thugs on crack? Why is this man on the air speaking like an authority on every cultural aspect of this country when the extent of his perceptions apparently comes from television and magazines alone. Why? Because his audience is stupid.
What does Scarborough mean when he says "O'Reilly was surprised that a restaurant run by people of color was almost just like a normal restaurant." That a restaurant run by people of color can't be "normal?" Apparently, in his mind, it can't, but it can be "almost just like" a normal restaurant. But it will never just be a restaurant. It will always be a "restaurant run by people of color."
There are too many people out there, who when they see a person of color see a "person of color", and not just a "person."
Oh, yes, what Faux News does better than anyone else in the cable game...the lying, misleading chyron. Between the chyron and the spinning coming out of the mouths of their talking heads, the uninformed don't have a chance. Of course, their fanbase being uninformed what Faux News counts on.
I notice none of those chyron have the infamous Cavuto mark. LOL!