For Bill O'Reilly, the facts are a factor: Our view
Fox News host Bill O'Reilly pitches himself to viewers as a brave truth-teller, outraged by the partisan spin that has taken over the national debate. Judging by his ratings, that message sells. On Monday, OReilly's show had more viewers between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. than all of CNN's shows between 6 p.m. and midnight — combined.
But now O'Reilly stands exposed of the same kind of puffed-up truth-bending he so regularly derides on his show. O'Reilly said he was in "active war zones" in the Falklands in 1982. He wasn't. He said he survived a "combat situation in Argentina." He didn't. He said he "saw nuns get shot in the back of the head." Nope. Not even in the same country.
True, O'Reilly is more opinionator than journalist. And the Falklands War happened a long time ago. But the facts still matter, and they are just as good a yardstick for O'Reilly as they are for recently suspended NBC News anchor Brian Williams.
By journalism ethics, Fox should distance itself from its truth-challenged employee. But that's not likely to happen because for Fox and its fans, credibility is established by different means. Having common enemies matters more than factual detail. That's why Fox has left a canyon-wide gap between its standards and those of NBC.
NBC took its tarnished anchor off the air; Fox let O'Reilly use his show to go on the attack. NBC executives began an investigation of Williams; Fox News CEO Roger Ailes publicly backed his marquee talent. Williams apologized; O'Reilly threatened journalists writing about him.
NBC tried to make itself better. Fox went to war.
That shouldn't be a surprise. Fox News was not created to be neutral but rather to feed a hunger among conservatives for a network they could relate to. For decades, the so-called mainstream news media left them with the impression that the press, liberals and the Democratic Party shared the same enemies: them. According to a Gallup Poll last fall, even one in five Democrats think the news media are too liberal.
That was never the networks' goal. Their news divisions are built on a commitment to impartiality. But good intentions don't guarantee success, and Fox has turned perception of liberal bias into a profitable reality. As a business matter, Fox doesn't need to compete on credibility. Many of its viewers long ago decided the rest of the news media have none.
That's why, absent any earth-shattering revelations, O'Reilly isn't going anywhere. Every time media critics hit Fox and O'Reilly, it just feeds the feeling that the left is out to get them, which in turn feeds Fox's success.
It's unfortunate that neither the network nor its star sees a need for allegiance to the truth. But for O'Reilly and Fox, the perceived vast liberal conspiracy that helped create the network two decades ago means not having to say you're sorry today.
Fox News declined to provide an opposing view to this editorial.
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