O'Reilly Said To Threaten Reporter "With Everything I Have" ~ THE 5TH ESTATE ASIA

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

O'Reilly Said To Threaten Reporter "With Everything I Have"

Wednesday, February 25, 2015

In a pathetic and at times incoherent rant on his own show yesterday O'Reilly attempted to obfuscate and blow smoke over his lies about reporting from the Falklands war zone, also denouncing Independent Media correspondents covering his outing by Mother Jones Magazine as "mentally ill" and stating that the story was not being covered by the "mainstream media;" O'Reilly then goes on to suggest that "I hope we can stop it, I really do…" - well Bill, it's not going to stop, and your days of bullying, browbeating and shouting down reporters that question your lies and bogus self-promotions are now at a decisive end

USA TODAY
By Laura Mandaro
02/25/2015

“What was happening on the Falkland Islands was a war zone. What was happening in Buenos Aires was unrest.”

- Charles Gomez, CBS

"We interviewed former colleagues of Bill O'Reilly who were in Buenos Aires at that time and other American journalists who were there and everybody is quite clear: It is incontrovertible that no American correspondent ever got to the Falklands, ever got to the war zone, when there was fighting going on. That includes Bill O'Reilly."
- David Corn, Mother Jones Magazine

"You know that I am not easily shocked. I've reported on the ground in active war zones from El Salvador to the Falklands."

- Bill O'Reilly

Fox News talk show host and political commentator Bill O'Reilly threatened to retaliate against a reporter "with everything I have" if he felt her coverage of his war-time reporting was inappropriate, the reporter said.

Over the years O'Reilly has made legions

of enemies who are now calling him out

In a tweet late Monday, New York Times reporter Emily Steel said O'Reilly told her "I am coming after you with everything I have," and "You can take it as a threat."

Steel linked to a Times article that detailed O'Reilly's efforts to refute claims by the magazine Mother Jones and interviews with former journalists at CBS News that O'Reilly gave an inaccurate portrayal of his reporting experience during the Falkland Islands conflict between Argentina and Britain in 1982 while he worked at CBS News. In contrast to O'Reilly's statements in a 2001 book, he did not report from active war-zones, the Mother Jones and interviews allege.

O'Reilly has defended his account, showing footage of violent protests in Buenos Aires, and interviewing other journalists who were involved in reporting on the conflict. O'Reilly has accused journalists of engaging in a smear campaign following the suspension of NBC anchor Brian Williams over reports he trumped up his own reporting experiences.

A Fox News spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The company's CEO, Roger Ailes, has said he fully supports O'Reilly.

Also Monday, CBS News re-released four stories it aired about the Falklands War on June 15 and 16, 1982. O'Reilly has said that he covered riots in Buenos Aires and that he pulled an injured CBS photographer to safety.

In the CBS reports, no mention was made of anyone at CBS being injured. Dan Rather does mention that some TV crew members were shoved and knocked to the ground. And then-CBS News correspondent Eric Engberg, one of O'Reilly's most outspoken critics on the issue, reports that witnesses reported "some serious injuries."

O'Reilly attempted to put he matter to rest on his show, The O'Reilly Factor, on Monday. He showed some of the CBS footage and stood by his previous assertions that the rioting resulted in deaths. "I want to stop this now," he said of the controversy. "I hope we can stop it. I really do."

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