Bill O’Reilly really believes that there was a left-wing plot to get him out of Fox News and he went to some crazy lengths to try to save his job.
Politico reported on the email that O’Reilly and his lawyers thought would save his skin:
On Tuesday, O’Reilly and his legal team debated whether to share with the leadership of parent company 21st Century Fox an April 13 email from Mary Pat Bonner, a Democratic fundraiser and ally of the liberal watchdog group Media Matters, which had spearheaded what she called an “advertiser education campaign” to get advertisers to pull out of O’Reilly’s 8 p.m. nightly broadcast, “The O’Reilly Factor.”
The email, whose recipients’ names were redacted in the version that was shared with POLITICO, announced two conference calls — originally scheduled for this Thursday and Friday — with Media Matters President Angelo Carusone. The purpose was to discuss “the success of the campaign so far, and our plans moving forward.”
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To O’Reilly’s camp, it was evidence of a left-wing plot to oust the profit-making anchor and conservative media star, who maintains that the sexual harassment allegations against him, including $13 million worth of settlements first reported by The New York Times on April 1, are “unfounded.”
The attempt to use a left-wing plot excuse to save O’Reilly’s job was naive. The Murdochs don’t give a damn about left wing plots. All the bosses of 21st Century Fox care about is money. When the advertisers left O’Reilly, it didn’t matter why. Bill O’Reilly became a financial and PR liability to Fox, so he had to go.
In the end, Bill O’Reilly drank too much of Fox News’s own Kool-Aid to see the truth. What Fox News puts on the air rarely matches the decisions that make the business go. The Murdochs were not going to let O’Reilly’s sexual harassment of women interfere with their attempt to purchase Sky.
O’Reilly confused fantasy and the real world. While blaming left-wing conspiracies worked on the air, acting like a nutjob lunatic was not enough to save his job at Fox News.
Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
