Many Americans Call O'Reilly a Journalist

[IChing]

By WILL LESTER
Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- About 40 percent of Americans say they consider talk show host Bill O'Reilly a journalist - more than would define famed Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward the same way, according to a poll conducted this spring.

Only 30 percent said Woodward, who broke the Watergate story with Carl Bernstein, was a journalist. More than a quarter said talk show host Rush Limbaugh was one, while one in five said they considered newspaper columnist George Will to be a journalist.

Poll respondents were simply asked, "Please tell me if you think (the individual named) is a journalist or not?" The question made no specific reference to differences between reporters and commentators..>>>>snip

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/M/MEDIA_POLL?SITE=MNMAN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2005-06-13-17-44-20

OH CRAP...............

[otohara]

1. Same 40% Who Think Bush

is doing a fine job - morans.

[IChing]

2. HOUSTON....I think we have a problem

"Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, said the results of the poll suggest the public defines the word "journalist" far differently than those in the press define it.

Annenberg also polled journalists from all sectors of the industry. Only 3 percent of journalists said Limbaugh was "somewhat close" to being a journalist and 11 percent said that about O'Reilly, while 93 percent said Woodward was "somewhat close or very close" to being a journalist."

_________________________________________________________________________

[rodeodance]

7. oooohhhhhhh my gawd!!!!!! I shake my head!!

[Massachusetts]

28. Many Americans Call O'Reilly a Journalist

Oh really............

[uppityperson]

3. many Americans call Mr.bush a lawfully elected President. nt

[meganmonkey]

5. What are you, a member of the reality based community?

Why must you hate America, doubting the validity of our great leader?

:P

[DIKB]

4. Jeez

These people are TALKING HEADS not journalists !!! They don't do crap, they're never in the field. They're so divorced from it all they shouldn't be regarded as journalists by anyone.

[progressivebydesign]

6. I suggest the American Journalists Assoc. (if there's one) has work to do.

It's time to reclaim the term and start turning out PROFESSIONAL journalists into the world... and denouncing these bloated meglomaniacs posing as journalists.

[NYC Liberal]

8. I don't think even O'Reilly HIMSELF says he's a journalist

Always says he's a 'commentator' whenever anyone questions his lies.

"HEY! I'm just a commentator here! I just give my opinions!"

Just an excuse for the BS and the spin.

[lisby]

12. Oh, I'm sure he does...

I fear there are very few great deeds left to Mr. O'Liely. He's been there, done that, and holds the record. So many great achievements for one man. And one who grew up on the poor side of the tracks, deprived of everything except the American Dream....

:nopity:

Lisby

[stewert]

34. NYC Liberal..........

When accused of having a right-wing bias O'Reilly claims to be a news analyst. He says he is a news analyst, and his job is to analyze the news. He will say it is not his job to be an objective journalist, and he does a hell of a good job of that, lol.

He also says it is not his job to defend Bush, yet he does it virtually every night.

[RobertSeattle]

9. I think he's a Falafelist

[lala_rawraw]

10. HAHAHAHAHAHAH, sorry, could not help it. n/t

[mitchum]

11. mitchum calls many Americans fucking idiots

and apparently with good reason

[Behind the Aegis]

13. hmmm

Are these members of "The earth is flat and dinosaurs are Satan's trick" group? See what happens when people don't get a LIBERAL education? Logic is lost on the stupid.

[Puzzler]

15. I think this poll/question is flawed...

The problem is that there is a good chance that the majority the people polled were simply more familiar with the other guys... since they are always on the airwaves.

-P

[Behind the Aegis]

19. True

They also probably don't know what a journalist is, as opposed to a commentator.

[99Pancakes]

32. Okay

Let's poll Canadians. Betcha they're smarter (crossing my liberal fingers)

btw, Welcome to the DU
:hi:

[Guaranteed]

14. LOL that headline is HILARIOUS. nt

[zoeb]

16. I don't know O'Liely's background

but the Hophead hails from the same school of journalism as Guckert. Maybe O'Liely does too?

[Roland99]

17. Well, is Woodward now really more of a writer vs. a journalist?

But, it's obvious people mistake a face reading a teleprompter with actual journalism.

[Say_What]

18. Indicator of how asleep at the switch 'MuriKans are...

eom

[Blue Belle]

20. I've said it before, and I'll say it again...

What do you expect when 40% of Americans think that the unhealthy part of a bacon double cheeseburger is the bun. :eyes:

[Daphne08]

21. Does the public understand the definition of a journalist?

Stephen Crane was a journalist. (yes, he was)
Nellie Bly was a journalist.
George Orwell was even a journalist. (yes, he was)
Edward R. Murrow was a journalist.
Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein are/were journalists (despite the ignorance of those taking the poll).
Gary Webb was a journalist.
Michael D. Sallah, Mitch Weiss, and Joe Mahr (The Blade, Toledo, Ohio]) are journalists (as is James Drew, et al. currently working on the Coingate case in Ohio for The Blade).
Larisa Alexandrovna is a journalist.

(There are so many great journalists that I've omitted...forgive me, please, any journalists who may be reading this.)

Bill O'Reilly is paid pundit... as is Rush Limbaugh. :banghead:


I find this Annenberg poll to be quite disturbing. Who were the adults polled? Fox News Network viewers?

[rodeodance]

22. here are a few of his bio's . more on the net-this is just a sample.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/articles/2001/7/11/133950.shtml
Bill O'Reilly's Bio

NewsMax.com

Born in Manhattan and raised in the suburb of Levittown, N.Y., Bill O'Reilly had a blue-collar, ethnic upbringing common in the Northeast. He attended Chaminade High School, and spent most of his childhood playing sports and annoying teachers.

O'Reilly went on to attend Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., where he wrote a column for the school newspaper and played football. In his junior year, O'Reilly was accepted into an overseas program, and studied at the University of London. He received a B.A. in history from Marist.

Upon graduation, O'Reilly began teaching at Monsignor Pace High School in a suburb of Miami. After two years, he returned to college and earned an M.A. in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

Then O'Reilly's television career began. His first stop was WNEP-TV in Scranton-Wilkes Barre, Pa. He then landed at WFAA-TV in Dallas, where he won a Dallas Press Club Award for excellence in investigative reporting. From Dallas, it was on to KMGH-TV in Denver, where O'Reilly won an Emmy for his coverage of a skyjacking. After two years in the Rocky Mountains, O'Reilly returned to the East Coast and joined WCBS-TV in New York City, where he won his second Emmy for an investigation of corrupt city marshals. O'Reilly was then promoted to the CBS network, where he reported on the wars in El Salvador and the Falkland Islands from his base in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

O'Reilly's career as an anchor began at the CBS and ABC affiliates in Boston, and continued at KATU-TV in Portland, Ore., before he joined ABC News as a correspondent in 1986. While at ABC, O'Reilly appeared on The World News broadcast nearly 100 times, and received a National Headliner Award for excellence in investigative reporting for a series of exposés on the Bradley fighting vehicle.

In February 1989, O'Reilly took over for David Frost as the anchor of the nationally syndicated program "Inside Edition." Under the O'Reilly reign, the program reached its ratings zenith, and was rarely out of the top 10 in syndicated rankings. While at "Inside," O'Reilly was the first national anchor to broadcast live from the scene of the riots in Los Angeles, and was named reporter of the year by the New York Crime Victims organization.

During his 20-year career, O'Reilly has reported from all over the world, including Vietnam, Kuwait, Berlin, Brazil, Australia, Japan, France, Romania and England. In addition, O'Reilly penned an opinion column in The Boston Herald for seven years, and his articles have appeared in publications such as Newsweek magazine, The New York Times and Parade magazine.

O'Reilly was accepted into the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University in early 1995. He subsequently resigned from his job at "Inside Edition," and prepared to go back to school by writing his first book, "Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Murder and Television," which is now in its second printing.

In the spring of 1996, O'Reilly received an M.A. in public policy from Harvard, and immediately took a job as the executive producer and anchor of "The O'Reilly Factor" on the then-new Fox News Channel. O'Reilly lives on Long Island, and still plays touch football with childhood friends. His other hobbies include collecting American historical documents, diving, and sleeping as much as possible.

He has since written two bestselling books: The O'Reilly Factor, and his newest, The No Spin Zone


http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,155,00.html
Bill O'Reilly's Bio
Thursday, April 29, 2004

Bill O'Reilly joined FOX News Channel (FNC) as the anchor/host of The O'Reilly Factor in 1996. The O'Reilly Factor (8-9:00PM ET/PT Mondays through Fridays), the most-watched program on cable news, has caused the powerful in America to duck for cover as the rigidly enforced "No Spin Zone" deals with the nation's most important issues in a straightforward and provocative manner.

From humble beginnings on Long Island, New York, Bill O'Reilly has risen to become "the new pope of TV Journalism" according to television critic Marvin Kitman. In 2000, The Factor (as O'Reilly refers to it) passed Larry King Live to become the number one cable news program in the United States. Both of O'Reilly's non-fiction books, The O'Reilly Factor, and The No Spin Zone have each reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. His novel Those Who Trespass has been optioned for the screen by Mel Gibson's Icon Productions.

While growing up O'Reilly had no idea that journalism would be his calling. He lived in a modest house with his father, mother and sister in the Westbury section of Levittown. O'Reilly began working in his early teens mowing lawns, which evolved into a house painting business.

Upon graduating from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, New York with a degree in History, he taught high school for two years in Miami, Florida. O'Reilly returned to school to pursue a Masters in Broadcast Journalism from Boston University.

[Daphne08]

23. I stand corrected as to O'Reilly's journalistic education

and background.

I don't watch him much (I have attempted on occasion, but the man literally makes me sick due to his crudeness) so I didn't realize he actually had credentials.

Okay... so he can be an educated cretin who "made good" with his degree in journalism. :silly:

[Chauga]

24. Can't wait to see the results for Limbaugh.

[Dr Fate]

25. Probably more folks in this poll than actual "Factor" viewers. n/t

n/t

[LynnTheDem]

26. About 40% of Americans are the stupidest MFers on the planet.

No surprise there.

[Zerex71]

27. This Just In: 40% of Americans Have Applesauce For Brains

See Story Page A1

[Roland99]

29. I'd wager 99% of Americans don't know who the f*ck O'Reilly is!

His show only gets about 2 - 2.3 million viewers.

[stewert]

35. Roland99.........

The O'Reilly Factor averaged 1.9 million viewers in May on 2005. That is way down from 3.1 million viewers a month in October of 2004. His ratings are dropping like a rock, and I see them falling even more.

[truthisfreedom]

30. it's just a sign that the ignorant American public associates lying with

positions of fame and status.

[Supersedeas]

31. did the survey ask if the respondents could READ!!!!

[99Pancakes]

33. HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!

:rofl: