O'Reilly "Unleashed" On GE After Olbermann's Comments

Bill O'Reilly, the Fox News star, is mounting an extraordinary televised assault on the chief executive of General Electric, calling him a "pinhead" and a "despicable human being" who bears responsibility for the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq.

On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's history of doing business with Iran. But the attacks grow out of an increasingly bitter feud between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary, NBC, one that has triggered back-channel discussions involving News Corp. owner Rupert Murdoch, Fox News Chairman Roger Ailes, NBC chief executive Jeff Zucker and General Electric's CEO, Jeffrey Immelt.

Ailes called Zucker on his cellphone last summer, clearly agitated over a slam against him by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. According to sources familiar with the conversation, Ailes warned that if Olbermann didn't stop such attacks against Fox, he would unleash O'Reilly against NBC and would use the New York Post as well.

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[roccofortuna]

I watch Olbermann's show a few nights a week and can't help but get agitated at how safe he plays it most of the time and how predictable he can be...his obsession with OReilly is unhealthy, and his unwillingness to lampoon those on the left who behave just as irrationally as those on the right (being that we're all inherently irrational beings) really hurts his credibility...

...he's less grating than O'Reilly and treats his guests kinder (mainly because he doesn't have guests who disagree with him)...ideology aside, pretending Olbermann is much different than OReilly shows a general lack of ability to judge character.

[mamacat]

On the one hand, I am not overly entertained by Keith's attacks on O'Reilly. Yes, he is an ass, but I don't need to be reminded of it every show. So, it does not bother me if Keith leaves most mention of O'R out of his show.

On the other hand, how typical of right-wing spin, that a company that has a license to sell hospital equipment to a country that is called terrorist by a failed president, is also tainted with the terrorist brush. It is typical of right wing lies and dirty tricks, and indicative of why this country is sick and tired of right wing looney tuners.

[frankifrost]

ISN'T IT ILLEGAL FOR A DOG TO RUN AROUND
UNLEASHED !

[nick1936]

If my memory serves me right I believe that Vice President Cheney di business with Iran so why isn't BillO jumping on his ass

[Blutus]

I guess my expletive got my first comment tossed.

I'll try again.

O'Reilly is a classic bully.

Unless he is PHYSICALLY confronted, as in "Step outside Billy", and is beat down
by someone willing to do it,
he will not stop doing what he is doing and will become even more arrogant.

Currently, there are no consequences involved when people spout insulting nonsense.

There was a time when you risked physical harm when you did so.

Let's bring it back!

[Stanford]

Olbermann and O'Reilly are cut from the same fabric. The two are both loons...the only difference being that one leans to the far left and the other to the right. Whatever happened to the days of hard news?

[YankeeCanuck]

I respectfully submit that while Olbermann may be bombastic, he's rational. Therein lies the difference.

[CrankyCurmudgeon]

I just went in to the kitchen and sliced a bit of onion so I could squeeze out a tear or two for poor, widdle BillO. My heart goes out to him. Perhaps he should start his "show" off with a recitation of "sticks and stones". What is it with these massively insecure egos anyway? The sicko doth protest too much, methinks.

[LITU]

True of most Republicans, O'Reilly hasn't bothered to refute Olbermann's fact-riddled tirades. Instead, and again like most Republicans, he chooses back door tactics. In a fair fight, he'd get his arse kicked.

Go Olbermann! New Yorkers should be ashamed of their girly-man, O'Reilly.

[Stanford]

Olbermann and O'Reilly are cut from the same fabric. They're both self-absorbed loons, the only difference being that one leans to the extreme left, and the other to the right. Their respective television shows are ridiculously biased and a complete waste of time. What ever happened to hard news?

[LITU]

Oh B*llsh*t!! Hard news journalists can be counted on one hand with three fingers cut off. THAT has been the history of hard news. What planet have you been living on?

Like I said, Olbermann strikes with fact, O'reilly with innuendo.

[ChristianEcon.com]

GE left the (formally) beautiful town of Pittsfield MA contaminated with PCB's--the rivers, lakes, and soil throughout the area. They also left an est. 14,000 jobless (for cheaper labor) and an ugly, dilapidated, abandoned factory landscape. They have begrudgingly helped to clean up part of it, like where an elementary school was, and where a playground was built, and part of the Housatonic River.

[HatingTheGame]

Oooh a spitting match between two of the worst corporations on the planet. Haven't had this much fun since 5th grade watching the kids "sword fight" in the playground with their pants down.

This is just as engrossing.

LOL

[AirmanOne]

What I am afraid of is if GE folds on Olberman then FOX news will be crowing and Oraly will be exstatic and we will never hear the end of his bragging. We might just as well shut down MSNBC, CNBC, CNN for good and let Faux news dictate the news we see (which would be like living in Nazi Germany before WW2 ). I get sick just thinking that Faux will be our only source of information (except for the internet)

[HatingTheGame]

"(except for the internet)"

And that might not be for long. Check out the policy debates around net neutrality and what the government is planning for your internets.

This might just be the golden age of the net, when information was plentiful and free.

Then the corporations were unleashed by a corrupt and bought off government, and we went back to the dark ages of controlled information, rampant government disinformation, and spoon fed ignorance.

Ahh remember the good old days when you can do your own research, and realize the scams and lies that the government is pulling on us. Those post-911 halcyon days are soon to fade into memory unless they're stopped.

Hard do see how though, as long as distractions like American Idol and the like continue to turn out minds into mush.

[landoffools]

Mr. O"Reilly is becoming noticeably, and increasingly tense over the last few months.

Perhaps, if Mr. O"Reilly was allowed to indulge himself in one of many of his known sexual fantasies, then his anger and hostility may at least subside ?

Perhaps, Mr. O"Reilly needs something as simple as a "massage", or his favorite "phone conversations" ???

[brijit]

"Asked about O'Reilly's motivation, Sheffer said that executives at Murdoch's News Corp. 'tell us if the attacks on O'Reilly end, the attacks on GE will end. They've had conversations with our news executives saying, 'If you stop, we'll stop.' " An NBC spokeswoman confirmed the calls."

OK, in other words, Fox believes that GE is collaborating with Iran and helping kill and maim Americans but it willing to ignore it if Olbermann will stop insulting O'Reilly? This makes no sense which, considering it's from Fox, isn't surprising.

[angel66]

Despite O'Reilly's regular idiocy, he has a terribly valid point about GE. Watching KO carry their water is sad given their disgusting record of chemical pollution and the fact that their network also pimped a war that benefited their weapons division. To read young proto-Kossacks defending GE here would be funny if it weren't so scary. Thanks Kos!

[Soundofthunder]

What does Bill have to say about the 20,000 explosives, none of which were traceable to Iran, confiscated from Iraqi insurgents? Sounds like GE's presence in Iran is completely harmless to our troops, as is Iran itself. And might I remind Bill and his minions that Iran's rise to power as the right hand of the Iraqi Shiite power structure is thanks to George Bush, not Bill Clinton or the Democrats or his favorite imaginary category, SPs. George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States. Here's to number 44, whoever he may be, and by he I mean Obama.

SOT

[noneIn2008]

O'Reilly is a thug but his point is valid about GE. How can anyone defend GE as a core of the military industrial complex? GE is also core to the MSM. War is one of their most profitable operations. They play both sides. Ok to attack OReilly, but don't defend GE

[Chalkeater]

O'Reilly doesn't care if GE pollutes or profits from war. He is implying that GE is helping arm terrorists through Iran and that is a lie. If anyone helped arm terrorists it was Fox News employee Oliver North and that is a provable fact.

[Canukistani]

Perfectly alright for Ailes and his Fox drones to attack and abuse whoever they want, but they get all upset when anybody decides to take them to task for it. This is the same sort of schoolyard bullying behavior that we see out the the current Administration. They want your lunch money and don't you dare complain about it. Nice to see that Keith's not willing to hand it over without a fight.

[UnbiasView]

"Nice to see that Keith's not willing to hand it over without a fight"

I thought you liberals were against corporate control of the media like MSNBC being owned by GE? I thought you libs were against those evil corporations but yet Keith is the little errand boy for GE.

[Canukistani]

'I thought you liberals were against corporate control of the media like MSNBC being owned by GE? I thought you libs were against those evil corporations but yet Keith is the little errand boy for GE.'

If you had stopped after 'I thought' I might have believed you.

[drumz]

Wait, you should have known right after "I thought" that it was coming from an empty (bias) shell.

[Citizenofreality]

Oooooh, SCARY, the blustering falafel wielding bully from the fake news network is going to use the phony newspaper to attack people. Sorry, too late to blame the deaths of American soldiers in Iraq on anybody but Bush. What a bunch of lame poseurs these idiots are.

[LiberalBuzz]

You can tell KO is hurting The FoxNewsWhorehouse when the OWNERS threaten NBC to stop beating up their falefel guy. Bill-O must be getting his nose bloodied far too often and being shown up for the rightwing water carrying, war monger and bully that he is.

And spare me any nonsense about Bill-O being against the war after he was for it. He is still for the war, he just thinks we should be killing more people to make it work and since we aren't killing as many people as he thinks we should he is suddenly "anti war"?

Puhleeze.

KO YOU KEEP KICKING BILL-O's ASS!!!!

[SuiginTou7]

Amen. Hey Billo be afraid, be very afraid!!!

[dumboldfarmer]

O'Reilly, you are nothing but a pompous ass. What's the matter, you can't stand a little criticism?
Get a grip on reality and quit trying to act insane, ok?

[americanwhocares]

Hopefully someone has checked to make sure that Bill O's rabies shots are up to date.

[jhink465]

Aww, poor little Billy got roughted by that nasty boy Keith and he runs to have his daddy beat up Keith's daddy. Oh goody, Countdown should be a hoot tonight. No mercy Keith. BILLO, tonight's and every nights WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD. What a wuss.

[Bluedog12]

NBC had better have stones. This is a moment of truth and if the parent company blinks it will do irreparable harm to the First Amendment not to mention journalism. A wonderful thing about dustups is that invariably one side underestimates its own weakness and vulnerability. Discovery is a wonderful thing. MSNBC has to take tally of what they have to work with. It"s so easy. Start with Col. North and the GOP arms for hostages" scandal. The fishing is rich.

[zitlight73]

Bill O'Reilly is like all loadmouth bullies when somebody finally stands up to him he runs and hides behind his mommy's skirt. It's O'Reilly, Rush and all the other neo-con chickenhawk cheerleaders that enabled Bush to launch his Idiot's War and destroy the constitution. There was a time I respected real conservatives like Bill Buckley, Ike and Goldwater even when I disagreed with them but these people who now claim to be conservatives are Nazis pure and simple.

[bac]

Just two words for Bill O'Reilly: Falafel and Loofah!

[Bluedog12]

Sir it appears that you don't take seriously the malfeasance by GE. They discontinued their production of their electric falafel iron leaving many without access to the culinary tool that changed the way Americans looked at Middle Eastern food. Additionally GE"s battery powered shower loofah was hailed for groundbreaking exfoliation but production stopped suddenly. Why GE? Sadly both are examples of the influence of industrial falafalism gone awry. Bill O has been fighting the good fight to force GE to bring these items back to market because he loves America.

[greenchili]

roflmao...........Funny skat brah.

[drumz]

Maybe it's the delivery but I know there's humor in this....

[pigsatthetrough]

The garbage that spews out of the mouth of O'Reily no longer amazes me, it is simply repugnant. The information that 2,500,000 people continue to watch Bill O is truly amazing.

[vipersdad]

And (duh) Ailes' comment is kind of ridiculous because the two of them are talking to completely different audiences anyways.