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Bill O'Reilly
So let's take a look at this ABC News scandal. I deal with it on my no spin news television broadcast. But I'm going to deal with a little bit more micro here, okay? Because I got about 10, 12 minutes here that I can just spend on one subject. So the guy, the White House correspondent named Terry Moran, been at ABC for 28 years doing some calculations, I guess he was a new reporter when I was there as a correspondent worker for Peter Jennings. I did not know Moran, okay? Because I left to do to anchor Inside Edition in the late 80s and then I went from there to Harvard to get a degree in public administration and then I went to Fox to do the O'Reilly Factor. Meanwhile, Moran did very well at ABC and rose up to be White House correspondent. Now when you are the White House correspondent and the best example of this is Brit Humes who's now a commentator, you're supposed to be a reporter and look for both sides of the situation. It's not what happens anymore. These White House correspondents make their name for attacking the President. That's how you make your name. Dan Rather started that with Nixon and then Sam Donaldson, Dan Rather for cbs, Donaldson for ABC carried that on with Reagan. So Rather obviously despised Nixon and Donaldson, I want to use the word despise. I don't know if that's accurate, but he thought that Reagan was a third rate mind. You know, he was above Reagan. That was Donaldson. I saw it in person when I was in a Washington bureau doing a story down there and Donaldson came in and was mocking Reagan. I saw it. Which you know he's entitled to do off the air, it's his opinion. But on the air, if you're a White House correspondent, he's supposed to report fairly. That means you gotta give, well, this is what this guy wants to do, but this is what this guy wants to do, that kind of thing. So Moran attack Stephen Miller, Trump's main advisor. I'm not going to read you the whole thing, but he just says millions. Miller's a hater. He hates everything and that Trump's a hater too. So that's why they get along. Okay, now if you're a commentator like me, you can do that. I wouldn't do it. I didn't do it with Obama, I didn't do it with any president. I didn't do it with Biden. I said Biden's the second worst President. That's not a hater. I back it up in my book Confronting the Presidents. Okay, you don't agree with me. But again, I'm a commentator. I'm not a reporter. Not what I'm doing. So Moran posts this on X. You can't. So Disney, which has a long history of hating Trump, Remember Disney had to settle. George Stephanopoulos said Trump was a racist. Trump sued him for defamation. $15 million ABC gives Trump for his library. And then the View. You know what that is every day? That's ABC News. And now you got Moran, a top White House correspondent, saying that Trump's a hater and Miller's a hater. So they suspend Moran indefinitely. Not going to fire him? I don't think they'll fire him. But you don't know. So Disney, which owns abc, I mean, how. How more militant can you get about Donald Trump? Everybody in your organization hates him. Mickey Mouse hates him. Snow White hates him. Come on. What are you doing now? Cbs. So CBS is being sued by Trump because Trump alleges that they took a Kamala Harris interview in 60 minutes and edited it to make her look better, which is true. Okay, I saw it. I'm in the business 50 years. That's what CBS did. Why? Because 60 Minutes hates Trump. You don't believe me? Here's Scott Pelley, who's the head guy on 60 Minutes. Go.
Scott Pelley
It has been a busy day for presidential statements divorced from reality. Mr. Trump said this morning that any polls that show disapproval of his immigration ban are fake. He singled out a federal judge for ridicule after the judge suspended his ban. And Mr. Trump said that the ruling now means that anyone can enter the country. The president's claims, whether imaginary or fabricated, are now worrying even his backers.
Bill O'Reilly
That's not reporting. That's commentary. Okay. What backers are worried. Who? But that's what Pelly has done. That was in 2017. It's now 2025. Eight years. And Pelly was the anchor of the CBS Evening News until Norah o' Donnell took over, and then Nora got waxed. And now Pelly is This guy from 60 Minutes who every week slams Trump. This is CBS, NBC. It's not even considering they have a whole network, MSNBC. And all it does is hate Trump. Go. Well, the crisis facing this country and the world tonight is the complete collapse of mental acuity in the President of the United States, the current president. It's absurd. You know. Is he talking about Biden? No, he's talking about Trump. Now, I speak with President Trump. You know that. And it's policy. But sometimes, you know, it's personal stuff about. Because I've known him 35 years. There's no collapse of mental acuity. O' Donnell doesn't know Donald Trump. He hates him. And NBC allows it all day, every day. The whole network, okay, so you got abc, cbs, you got NBC all hating Donald Trump. Here is the irony of life. That hatred has destroyed those networks in the news area. I will now back it up. Now, how often on YouTube do you hear opinions backed up? How? How often? Not often. And if you want to dispute that, bill@bill o'reilly.com bill@billorilly.com name in town. If you wish to opine, give me some examples. People that speak to you on YouTube who back it up. Okay, so let's look at the evening news. Is three evening news. As you know, 2014, ABC had 8 million viewers a night on average. Okay? Now it has about 7 million. They've lost a million. Not terrible. Not terrible, but you lose a million. CBS had 6.8 million in 2014. Now it has four and a half million. That's big. NBC had almost nine million more than ABC in 2014. Now it is less than ABC. NBC went from nine million. Okay. To 6.8 million. And a lot of that is MSNBC. So non liberal Americans, independents, libertarians, traditionals, conservatives, four areas, non liberal. They're not watching any of them because it's a waste of their time. Why do they want to hear Rachel Maddow every day say Trump's the devil? We got it, Rachel. We got it. We don't need it said 10,000 times. You got a story that you feel is interesting that's hurting the American people. You can back it up with facts. Let's hear it. That's fine. But every night, come on. Okay, in the morning, this is the big cash cow for the networks the morning because they're so long. I think Good Morning America now goes from four in the morning to four in the afternoon or something. It's crazy because it's cheap. They make money. So 2014, Good Morning America had 4.7 million viewers. Now it has 2.8 catastrophe. NBC Today Show, 6 million and 14, 2.8. They're tied. Catastrophe. Okay, CBS this Morning never had an audience 2, 7 in 14. Now it's about 2 million some nights, some mornings below 2 million. Now, all of these news agencies have changed their personnel. They've changed their sets, bells and whistles. Nothing's working and nothing will work. They are through as a major influence in the United States of America. And I'm kind of sad. I work for CBS News. I work, local WCBS TV in New York. Excellent experience. I worked under. Rather not an excellent experience for me. I didn't like it at all. I worked for ABC under Peter Jennings for two years. Appeared on World News more than 100 times. Jennings and I got along great. He was a mentor. I admired his style, and he's a liberal man. But he didn't allow that to intrude on what he did on the air. So this is a pretty big deal.
Podcast Summary: BONUS Episode - Bill O’Reilly Dissects ABC News' Terry Moran and his 'Hater' Controversy
Podcast Information:
Bill O’Reilly opens the episode by addressing a controversy involving Terry Moran, a White House correspondent for ABC News with a 28-year tenure at the network. O’Reilly highlights his limited personal interaction with Moran, noting his own career trajectory which led him away from ABC to host his own programs and pursue further education.
Bill O'Reilly [00:01]: "So let's take a look at this ABC News scandal... I did not know Moran."
O’Reilly critiques the current state of White House correspondents, asserting that their primary role has shifted from unbiased reporting to attacking the President. He traces this trend back to figures like Dan Rather and Sam Donaldson, whom he accuses of harboring personal disdain towards presidents they cover, such as Nixon and Reagan.
Bill O'Reilly [00:02]: "These White House correspondents make their name for attacking the President. That's how you make your name."
Focusing on the crux of the scandal, O’Reilly discusses Moran’s derogatory remarks about Stephen Miller, President Trump’s chief advisor, labeling both Miller and Trump as "haters." O’Reilly contrasts Moran's behavior with his own approach as a commentator, where he reserves such strong opinions for his analyses rather than journalistic reporting.
Bill O'Reilly [02:15]: "Moran attack Stephen Miller, Trump's main advisor. He just says Miller's a hater. He hates everything and that Trump's a hater too."
As a result of these comments, ABC News has suspended Moran indefinitely. O’Reilly speculates on the potential for termination but suggests that firing may not occur, highlighting Microsoft’s heightened animosity towards Trump.
Bill O'Reilly [03:50]: "They suspend Moran indefinitely. Not going to fire him? I don't think they'll fire him."
O’Reilly extends his critique to other major media outlets, accusing Disney (owner of ABC) of a longstanding bias against Trump. He references legal battles, including Trump’s defamation lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos, which resulted in ABC paying $15 million for Trump’s library.
Bill O'Reilly [03:00]: "Disney, which owns abc, how. How more militant can you get about Donald Trump? Everybody in your organization hates him."
He further critiques CBS and its flagship program, "60 Minutes," alleging that the show deliberately edits interviews to portray Trump negatively.
Bill O'Reilly [04:10]: "CBS is being sued by Trump because Trump alleges that they took a Kamala Harris interview in 60 Minutes and edited it to make her look better... because 60 Minutes hates Trump."
O’Reilly critiques Scott Pelley of CBS, accusing him of drifting from traditional reporting into commentary that unfairly targets Trump. He cites specific instances where Pelley’s statements about Trump reflect personal opinion rather than objective journalism.
Bill O'Reilly [04:28]: "Scott Pelley: It has been a busy day for presidential statements divorced from reality... The president's claims, whether imaginary or fabricated, are now worrying even his backers."
O’Reilly rebuts Pelley's portrayal of Trump by asserting his personal relationship with Trump and defending the President's mental acuity.
Bill O'Reilly [04:58]: "Now, I speak with President Trump. You know that. And it's policy. But sometimes, you know, it's personal stuff... There's no collapse of mental acuity."
Shifting focus to the broader media landscape, O’Reilly presents statistics demonstrating a significant decline in viewership for major networks’ evening news programs since 2014. He attributes this decline to perceived liberal bias and repetitive negative coverage of Trump, which alienates non-liberal audiences.
Bill O'Reilly [05:20]: "2014, ABC had 8 million viewers a night on average. Now it has about 7 million... CBS had 6.8 million in 2014. Now it has four and a half million."
He further discusses the drop in morning show audiences, pointing to similar trends of reduced viewership and questioning the effectiveness of network strategies to regain audience interest.
Bill O'Reilly [06:05]: "Good Morning America now goes from four in the morning to four in the afternoon or something. It's crazy because it's cheap. They make money."
O’Reilly reflects on his personal experiences working with ABC and CBS, specifically mentioning his time under Peter Jennings at ABC, whom he respected for maintaining journalistic integrity despite personal differences in political ideology.
Bill O'Reilly [07:30]: "I worked for ABC under Peter Jennings for two years. Appeared on World News more than 100 times. Jennings and I got along great. He was a mentor."
He concludes by emphasizing the detrimental impact of media bias on the credibility and influence of major news networks in the United States.
Bill O'Reilly [08:00]: "Nothing's working and nothing will work. They are through as a major influence in the United States of America."
Key Takeaways:
Notable Quotes:
This episode provides a critical examination of perceived media biases within major news organizations, using the Terry Moran controversy as a focal point to discuss broader trends affecting journalism and public perception.