From Bill O’Reilly, to a reporter who called to ask about a Mother Jones report that he had wildly exaggerated his coverage of the Falklands War:
During a phone conversation, he told a reporter for The New York Times that there would be repercussions if he felt any of the reporter’s coverage was inappropriate. “I am coming after you with everything I have,” Mr. O’Reilly said. “You can take it as a threat.”
Charming, as always. And once again, this is the difference between O’Reilly and Brian Williams. O’Reilly and Fox News will never admit any wrongdoing, and will fight back with everything they’ve got. There will be no six-month suspension for Bill O’Reilly.
Will it work? Probably yes. After all, O’Reilly is paid to be a windbag, so the fact that he’s exaggerated some stuff on his personal resume seems like it’s just part of the package. Still, I admit that this episode is getting a lot more attention than it was when I first commented on it. The fact that the New York Times is covering it on its front page is proof of that. So maybe it’s going to hurt O’Reilly more than I thought. Stay tuned.
