Life Of O’Reilly

Whether you love him or hate him, Bill O’Reilly is a celebrity that you probably know. His news show, “The Factor”, can be seen on the Fox news channel on weekdays at 8 p.m., 11 p.m., and 5 a.m. He claims that he has had the number one rated news show for the last 12 years. I haven’t found anything to refute this claim. The Fox news channel, in fact, draws more viewers than CNN, MSNBC, and HLN combined.

O’Reilly is a broadcaster who not only reports the news but also expresses his opinion on it. He claims his show is a “no spin zone.” Critics disagree. They say O’Reilly is an arrogant mouthpiece of the radical right. O’Reilly, on the other hand, claims that he is always “fair and balanced.”

In recent months, I have been watching (and studying) the O’Reilly news show. While his show certainly does reflect the conservative viewpoint, it is also informative and entertaining. I have also read O’Reilly’s autobiography, A Bold, Fresh Piece of Humanity. That is what a Catholic nun said of O’Reilly when he was in 3rd grade. It was meant to be criticism. O’Reilly has enjoyed the description, however, and frequently refers to himself as “the bold, fresh guy” in his book.

As a kid, O’Reilly was a self-admitted “tough guy”. Some people thought that he even had “a chip on [his] shoulder”. It was a “multitude of experiences” that influenced his personality. Perhaps he is who he is because his parents lived through the Great Depression; were poor; and were afraid to make waves. O’Reilly, on the other hand, has always enjoyed being in the lime light. He isn’t afraid to mix it up, and he speaks his mind on a variety of subjects.

O’Reilly stands up for the things he believes in. His religion, he writes, “has been a very important thing in my life”. It taught him the difference between right and wrong. He didn’t agree with the “Age of Aquarius” thinking (in the 1960s) when everyone seemed to be criticizing America, practicing free love, and using drugs. He himself has “never been intoxicated or taken any illegal drug”. He always kept his nose to the grindstone, studied hard, and concentrated on trying to advance his career.

It is interesting to note that O’Reilly’s first real job was as an English teacher at a Catholic high school in Florida. He then went on to graduate school to pursue his true love: broadcast journalism. O’Reilly’s autobiography relates how hard work (and good fortune) led to his gradual ascendancy from a novice journalist into the big-time newscaster that he now is.

O’Reilly has used his show as a “crusade” to get people “to do the right thing”. If they don’t, then he exposes them on national television. He enjoys going after “villains that are hurting the country”. He also goes after child abusers (and the judicial system that coddles them) and “evildoers of all kinds.”

O’Reilly’s show regularly points out the difference between “pinheads and patriots”. His attacks can sometimes be caustic, and his style is often arrogant and self-righteous. Whether you love him or hate him, however, there is no doubt that Bill O’Reilly is “a bold, fresh piece of humanity”, and he truly has a deep love for America.