The Oh Really? Factor: Unspinning Fox News Channel's Bill O'Reilly

by Peter Hart, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting

Since emerging from tabloid-television infamy as the former host of Inside Edition, Bill O’Reilly has taken his brand of provocative rhetoric to the next from shock-TV to the No Spin Zone. Despite his outspoken support for Bush’s tax cuts and a war with Iraq, and his attacks on everything from National Public Radio to "welfare mothers," O’Reilly fashions his program, The O’Reilly Factor, as "without an agenda or any ideological prejudices." Presenting opposing viewpoints and likely to express views that occasionally diverge from the conservative orthodoxy, O’Reilly has styled himself as a straight-shooting man of the people, wary of the conservative label with which liberals would tag him. In The Oh Really? Factor, brimming with examples of O’Reilly’s error, contradiction, and hard-right political tilt, Hart exposes the No Spin Zone as little more than clever marketing.
The Oh Really? Factor reflects hundreds of hours of research, fact checking, and analysis of the same evidence O’Reilly uses to support his claims. In this concise and compelling analysis of O’Reilly’s views, Hart underscores this pundit’s masked partisanship; adversarial stance toward unions, Blacks, immigrants, and gays and lesbians; and his kid-gloves treatment of the Right. Forming an important corrective, The Oh Really? Factor snags O’Reilly in his own spin.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2003

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.

Reviews

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

A DETAILED CRITIQUE OF THE FOX TV SHOW HOST/AUTHOR

Peter Hart is the activism director for Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR).

This 2003 book begins with an overview of Bill O'Reilly's style (e.g., interrupting callers/guests; calling them "pinheads"; when faced with a statement he can't refute, insisting, "That's just YOUR opinion!").

Subdividing the book into topical chapters such as "O'Reilly's Paranoia," "Bill Goes to War," "O'Reilly's America," etc., perhaps the most interesting part of the book is the citation of direct quotes from O'Reilly, followed by an "Oh Really?" refutation.

Although the factual examples are nearly ten years old and therefore out-of-date, O'Reilly's style has changed little over the years. Progressives will love the book, and even fans of O'Reilly may benefit from seeing how he sometimes gets too loose with his facts.

[Derek Postlewaite · Rating 4 out of 5]

A scathing catalog of Bill OReilly's misinformation. What's important to keep in mind is this is not a book of opinions that deride Bill OReilly. Peter Hart makes a point to remind his readers that there "is nothing wrong with a conservative commentator." It is merely a book that points out OReilly's argumentative tactics that twist statements of fact from experts and guests into baseless opinions, his inconsistent positions which leave him taking one side one day and acting as if he was on the other side the whole time three shows later, and his nearly 100% refusal to admit his errors. Peter Hart believes that OReilly probably does believe what he says. I'm in agreement. If OReilly's a journalist, he's terrible at his job. If he has a team of fact checkers, they should be fired for getting almost everything wrong. The only problem is then: how do we get his loyal audience to realize his errors without thinking it's just a liberal scheme, or propaganda put out by the "liberal media"? Not that it was the intention of the book to offer a solution, but it would be nice to have one.

[MsBrie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Attacks quote by quote the lies Bill O'Reilly spews

Not exactly what one would read during one sitting but an interesting book to pick up every now and then to remind Fox (faux) News viewers and others that the lies O'Reilly spins are just that- lies

[Kyle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anything that clowns this fuck is ok in my book.