Does Bill O'Reilly have a Brian Williams problem?
/The left leaning website Mother Jones has attacked the right leaning Bill O'Reilly and has accused him of pumping up his war stories similar to what NBC's Brian Williams did.
Mother Jones points out instances when O'Reilly touted his time as a war correspondent during the Falklands conflict:
In April 2013, while discussing the Boston Marathon bombing, O'Reilly shared a heroic tale of his exploits in the Falklands war:
I was in a situation one time, in a war zone in Argentina, in the Falklands, where my photographer got run down and then hit his head and was bleeding from the ear on the concrete. And the army was chasing us. I had to make a decision. And I dragged him off, you know, but at the same time, I'm looking around and trying to do my job, but I figure I had to get this guy out of there because that was more important.
But Mother Jones points out that American reporters were not on the ground in this distant war zone. "Nobody got to the war zone during the Falklands war," Susan Zirinsky, a longtime CBS News producer who helped manage the network's coverage of the war from Buenos Aires, tells Mother Jones. She does not remember what O'Reilly did during his time in Argentina. But she notes that the military junta kept US reporters from reaching the islands: "You weren't allowed on by the Argentinians. No CBS person got there."
The site drags up other examples of where they said O'Reilly conflated his war reporting experiences.
But, don't expect a Brian Williams type apology from Bill O, he's firing back at Mother Jones. “It’s a total hit piece,” O’Reilly said to Deadline.
“Every single thing I ever said about my career is true. It’s verifiable. The field reports, they went on; the video is there. I was praised for the reporting. This is a bunch of garbage.”
The bigger picture is this political outfit Mother Jones,” O’Reilly said. “David Corn (Author of the Mother Jones story) works for MSNBC,” he said of the writer, who is a contributor for that cable news network.
“We’re killing them in the ratings,” O’Reilly added. “We’re taking millions of dollars away from them; any damage they can do to me damages the Fox News Channel. Damage the tentpole, damage the main guy — everybody knows this.”
It should be pointed out that David Corn was a one time contributor to Fox News from March 2001- March 2008 until Fox News did not renew his deal.
It is likely that even if O'Reilly's stories turn out to be false, he will not take a Brian Williams type hit. The Fox News host is not looked at as a "serious" newsman and is certainly not looked at by most viewers as objective (sorry Bill, but that's true). So, while this could cause some scratches to O'Reilly, don't expect any deep cuts.
Just saying....
