Bill O’Reilly Refuses To Acknowledge Fox’s Right-Wing Agenda

Bernard Goldberg got bitten with some kind of truth bug last night and seemed very intent on arguing to Bill O’Reilly that Fox News is not really fair and balanced.

Goldberg never came right out and said “not fair and balanced” but that’s what he meant.

GOLDBERG: It’s true that Fox News is gonna hold President Obama accountable, as you just did, in ways that liberal media won’t. That’s absolutely true. But what you left out is the hyper partisanship on both sides in the media. …Liberal news organizations are going to play down liberal screw ups but Fox News is going to play down conservative screw ups.

O’Reilly interrupted. He insisted that his show is independent, suggesting that it “hammers” both sides. (He just forgot to mention that one side gets hammered a lot more than the other.)

“This program is not all of Fox News,” Goldberg said. He heaped praise on some Fox hosts:

GOLDBERG: Bret Baier is the best news show on television. Chris Wallace has the best news show on Sunday. …This show is both smart and fair. Kelly did a great interview with Dick Cheney that was both good journalism and smart journalism. And I repeat, that’s not all of Fox.

“That’s most of Fox,” O’Reilly objected.

“No, not even close,” Goldberg said.

O’Reilly argued, “Greta doesn’t have an ideological bone.” (Maybe not, but she’s perfectly willing to advance Roger Ailes’ ideological bones)

Goldberg shot back, “So Fox isn’t the conservative network, is that what you’re trying to tell us?”

“What I’m saying to you is I never bought that, that Fox is the conservative network,” O’Reilly replied. He said that Fox gives “traditional conservatives a voice that they don’t have on the other networks. …There’s no right-wing jihad on this network. If somebody’s screwin’ up on the right, they get hammered.”

“Not always,” Goldberg countered. As an example, he said, “Many conservatives on this channel will only blame Barack Obama for what’s happening in the Middle East and they will conveniently leave out that Bush started the…”

As if to prove Goldberg’s point, O’Reilly interrupted to say, “No operation is perfect…. There’s a reason why we’re beating the zombie channel. There’s a reason.”

As the discussion wrapped up, Goldberg said, “I wish I could have given you more examples to make my point. But my point is that even opinion journalism has to be fair and when you just pick on the other guy’s side and go easy on your side – not you, but others – that’s not fair.”

“I agree with that,” O’Reilly said.

O’Reilly also said that if Goldberg is not fired he can give more examples next week.

Wow.

Watch it below, from last night’s The O’Reilly Factor. O’Reilly’s Talking Points Memo patting Fox News on the back for being a beacon of “fact-based” analysis is before Goldberg’s appearance.

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Showing 11 reactions

commented 2015-03-21 20:55:56 -0400 · Flag

Pretending not to have an ideological bone makes it so much easier when your head producer tells you that you need to hammer every liberal that dares to come on FOX News.

commented 2015-03-21 02:17:55 -0400 · Flag

I probably should have explained better… Goldberg brought up getting fired on his own. He said something like, “I might get fired but…” O’Reilly’s comment later in the discussion was a response to what Goldberg said. O’Reilly was not suggesting Goldberg might be fired. It was also a semi-joke that suggested O’Reilly thought Goldberg would not be fired.

commented 2015-03-21 01:44:55 -0400 · Flag

Jeez, there really is some kind of memo that comes down from on high at Fox every day telling them what to pound on. Hannity had a segment of outrage about Obama putting MSNBC and Fox in the same box as “alternate realities” today, and insisted he was the one and only “conservative voice” on Fox.

My God, how do these people maintain any kind of sanity with this utter unwillingness to acknowledge reality? I would have far less of a problem with Fox if it just fessed up and proudly trumpeted that it was GOP-TV and stopped pretending.

And please, Baier and Wallace are just as bad, they’re just more subtle in their distortions.

commented 2015-03-20 22:19:25 -0400 · Flag

So Fox is not the conservative network – but every other news outlet is part of the far left liberal agenda. Thanks for clearing things up, “fair and balanced” Bill.

commented 2015-03-20 18:06:20 -0400 · Flag

“Bill, you have the best show on all of television — no, you have the best show in all of the universe and throughout all of time, and if I could I’d bl*w you right here live on national TV because I respect the fact that you have given me a job that pays me to do nothing but suck your a$$ all day long.” — Bernard Goldberg, on why he loves Bill O’Blow-me

commented 2015-03-20 14:58:32 -0400 · Flag

@ zaglossus: I understand the original concept for Geico’s “Pinocchio” commercial was supposed to use Bill O’Reilly but the company got cold feet at the last minute. Geico didn’t want people to associate it with O’Reilly in any form or fashion.

commented 2015-03-20 14:22:07 -0400 · Flag

So O’Reilly acknowledged that you risk getting fired from Fox for telling the truth?!

commented 2015-03-20 12:24:09 -0400 · Flag

@truman
LOL

commented 2015-03-20 10:46:01 -0400 · Flag

“I hope you’re not fired” said Junior O’Reilly? Sounds like Junior will be running to his Daddy Roger Ailes to tattle on Mr. Goldberg.

commented 2015-03-20 09:47:49 -0400 · Flag

The stress of all of those combat tours must have compromised Bildo’s ability to discern right-wing propaganda when he is swimming in it.

NewsHounds posted about Bill O’Reilly Refuses To Acknowledge Fox’s Right-Wing Agenda on NewsHounds' Facebook page 2015-03-20 09:00:16 -0400

Wow.