O'Reilly: Fox News altered NY Times reporter's photo to "ma[ke] fun of him ... for painting a distorted ratings picture ... and propping up MSNBC"
SUMMARY: Commenting on Fox & Friends' airing of an altered photo of New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg, Fox News' Bill O'Reilly said: "You may remember Fox News made fun of him recently for painting a distorted ratings picture -- that's why they distorted his picture -- and propping up MSNBC." O'Reilly previously compared the altered photo, which Fox & Friends did not indicate was distorted, to a Times illustration of him.
On the July 17 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly again commented on Fox & Friends' airing of an altered photo of New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg, saying: "You may remember Fox News made fun of him recently for painting a distorted ratings picture -- that's why they distorted his picture -- and propping up MSNBC. Well, today, another wet kiss for that failing cable operation. In fact, in the past two years, Steinberg has written 32 favorable mentions about NBC News -- 32. He may be a pinhead, but Steinberg is NBC's pinhead." During the segment, O'Reilly aired both the altered and original photo of Steinberg. Steinberg wrote a July 17 Times article on the possibility of Air America Radio host Rachel Maddow getting her own MSNBC show.
As Media Matters for America documented, on July 2, Fox & Friends aired altered photos of Steinberg and of Steven Reddicliffe, a New York Times editor, during a segment in which co-host Steve Doocy claimed that Steinberg's June 28 article on the "ominous trend" in Fox News' ratings was a "hit piece." Fox & Friends co-hosts did not note that the images had been altered.
On the July 7 edition of his program O'Reilly compared the airing of the altered photo of Steinberg to what was clearly an illustration of O'Reilly published by the Times in January 2007. He said of the photos controversy: "Well, some folks at the Times are outraged, as are the far-left loons at Media Matters. Now, this is rich, because here are the caricatures The New York Times used of me when they slashed my book, Culture Warrior. Nice images ... you notice the horn in there? Isn't that nice?" According to a July 7 Times column by David Carr, Times television reporter Bill Carter considered the altered photo -- the display of which constituted, according to O'Reilly, "pok[ing] a little fun at Steinberg" -- "an anti-Semitic caricature." Carr also wrote that Brian Lewis, Fox News' executive vice president for corporate communications, called the "suggestion that there was something anti-Semitic about the depiction of Mr. Steinberg 'vile and untrue.' "
From the July 17 broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor:
O'REILLY: On the pinhead front: hello New York Times TV writer Jacques Steinberg. You may remember Fox News made fun of him recently for painting a distorted ratings picture -- that's why they distorted his picture -- and propping up MSNBC.
Well, today, another wet kiss for that failing cable operation. In fact, in the past two years, Steinberg has written 32 favorable mentions about NBC News -- 32. He may be a pinhead, but Steinberg is NBC's pinhead. Thirty-two.
It took BOR and FOX almost two weeks to come up with this explanation.
But if it's true, then why did they highlight these photos only once, and not again with the same explanation, and why didn't they set up the "joke" better on FOX and Friends the first time?
So they'e either liars, or comedic idiots.
It always amazes me at the type of humor nutcase Republican's find funny. Yet, when someone makes fun of George W. Bush, they are suddenly thin skinned. I just don't understand--or care.
"So they'e either liars, or comedic idiots."
Why not both? I do actually think that this began as someone's idea of a joke -- and that person is not funny. But that's fine, this sort of thing happens a lot especially in large organizations, so FNC could have simply apologized for reaching beyond their grasp and botching their attempt at comedy. But instead, they're sticking to their empty guns, and are hard at work cranking out new explanations in the hope that one sticks.
O'Reilly's first defense was that these weren't distorted photographs at all, but rather mocking caricatures like those used by cartoonists in the New York Times. Apparently that one didn't stick, so now O'Reilly is claiming that Fox and Friends did distort the photographic images of these two men, but only in retaliation for the distorted image that they presented of FNC's ratings. (Nevermind that even if the NYT distorted the 'image' of FNC's ratings, they did so metaphorically, while FNC literally distorted the photographic images of these men.)
The original joke wasn't funny, but I'm starting to chuckle at O'Reilly's flailing efforts to come up with a viable defense. Is it so hard to just apologize?
Why do I get the feeling that Billy and all his Fox Noise cohorts are all going to completely self-destruct upon Barack Obama and many grassroots progressive Democrats taking charge of DC!
These people are so worried that the Fairness Doctrine is going to be implemented to shut them out, that they will, all on their own, shut themselves down!
I sense laughable desperation on the whole lot of them in the coming months..... it should be fun to watch how these people begin to pull their hair out because they bekieve that no one is listen.... not because of their ignorance, hate, and rightwing ideology..... but because of the fairness Doctrine just being considered.....
and there i was at this black run restaurant with fine china and actual silverware and no one was saying more mf-ing iced tea.
Really? The same thing happened to Bill O'Reilly a couple of years ago too. All the black restaurants I visit are the normal ones, the ones where there's gunfighting, mfer's being said all the time, and a lot of iced tea ordering.
Does he ever get through a show without mentioning his book, "Culture Warrior"?
I may be be just another pinhead but O'Reilly seems petty and self obsessed. They didn't like your book, Bill. Get over yourself.
Does he ever get through a show without mentioning his book, "Culture Warrior"?
Yes, sometimes he mentions "Kids Are Americans Too". lol
Hey, W-King.Did you catch the Dobbs-o-Meter
Right wing humor is much too crass, like O'reilly hisself:
"Well, today, another wet kiss for that failing cable operation" The image of him giving anyone or network a wet kiss is a horror and is an illegal operation that should be shut down immediately.
This is just funny. The back and forth debacle. But whats really funny is what he wrote in the column:
if I really hit the jackpot — the specter of my ungainly headshot appearing on one of Fox News’s shows along with some stern copy about what an idiot I am.
Its true, altered or not, that is one ungainly headshot!
This is just funny. The back and forth debacle. But whats really funny is what he wrote in the column:
if I really hit the jackpot — the specter of my ungainly headshot appearing on one of Fox News’s shows along with some stern copy about what an idiot I am.
Its true, altered or not, that is one ungainly headshot!
Did you have to prove how ignorant you are one more time?
He said that you were stymied by the use of a PC - a Personal Computer. He wasn't talking about Politically Correct.
Why don't you tell us again about your multiple advanced college degrees. Please. Do it. Uneducated people might make that mistake. It's really shameful that someone who has advanced degrees makes the errors you make. I love it when you hurt your cause. It's really enjoyable to see Republicans self-destruct right in front of our eyes. Keep it up for another 2 or 3 election cycles. That should be long enough to rid the Republican Party of all the creeps in leadership positions now and allow the party to recover.
Science101 - OWNED!!!
That's the funniest thing I've seen since that Jon Stewart clip.
Science
Bottleblonde is attacking you. Congrats. When you have someone as dumb and uninformed as her coming after you, you have struck a nerve. Keep up the good work. Blondie will be off playing with ken soon, and will forget all about you. As for her degrees, it only takes about 800 hours of training to cut hair. She is a Stylist....and dont forget it.
Wow! You have now sunk to a new low. You are a dog kicker. What's next, a puppy stomper?
Those who debate the merits of their arguments never have to resort to personal attacks--provided their argument has merit.
In the meantime, have a nice day--and if you live in my township--VOTE RICK ! ! !
Science heard the PC dog whistle. You can not blame him.
dog-whistle politics noun [U] /
d
g w
sl 
p
l
t
ks/
expressing political ideas in such a way that only a specific group of voters properly understand what is being said, especially in order to conceal a controversial message
a reference to "political correctness" has long been a dog-whistle from the right, attempting to silence the left when it points out another dog-whistle coming clear out of right field. (This is usually followed by the "free speech" dog-whistle, defending the "right" to be a covert racist, sexist, bigoted, homophobic asshole farting in code.)
Of course, it's worth pointing out that those who react as the whistler desires to dog whistles...are dogs.
From: http://www.hollow-hill.com/sabina/2008/01/well_now_ive_truly_heard_every.html
My favorite part of this whole issue was when O'Reilly said "did you see the horn?" that was seemingly coincidentally formed by the repetitive pattern on the image that went along with the review, as if that were clearly the main attribute and/or 'theme' of the picture. Anyway, the best part was that it made O'Reilly look like "Venger" from the D&D cartoon, except with a more stubborn attitude to covering his thinning hair.
Be a man and shave the rest of it off, Bill! It's time.
Media Matters' point is that it's not okay, as I said on the other threads, for a network to make personal attacks on a journalist. How Bill O'Reilly can think that it's appropriate for them to do that because they believe that his story was unfair is ridiculous. Even if his story was unfair, it would still never be right for a cable news network to make personal attacks on a journalist.
Top that off with the fact that O'Reilly's statement
"New York Times TV writer Jacques Steinberg. You may remember Fox News made fun of him recently for painting a distorted ratings picture -- that's why they distorted his picture -- and propping up MSNBC."
Is false. The story he wrote didn't present a distorted ratings picture. They said that the gap between Fox News and other cable news channels has gotten smaller. Fox News still has about the same viewership - the same people are still tone-deaf and brain-dead. The viewers on the other channels have increased. That fact does make MSNBC look better, but "propping up MSNBC" means, in a normal word meaning kind of way, that the reporter was misleading his readers and presenting distorted info. He didn't do that. The facts made MSNBC look better.
Those lousy facts that have a liberal bias strike again.
"You may remember Fox News made fun of him recently for painting a distorted ratings picture"
what is a "distorted ratings picture"? I know the general story behind the article but am having trouble understanding the motive for the fun . I looked at the Times artcile and the only image/picture I saw was a graph (visual interpretation of data). Is that the 'painted picture' he is referring to?
Howver, nothing excuses the fact that O'Reilly is a sick man. I wonder how many of his viewers/listeners know of the Mackaris event and condone it by giving him their ears and/or eyes.
Yes. Sick. It's a medical condition, though ... not a choice.
ha Ha HAHAHAH!!!
Isn't this the guy who doesn't do personal attacks??
What a putz.