I've been thinking a lot lately about the public's right to know in the Internet age -- people have always had a right to public records including things like home ownership (including mortgage details), campaign contributions, public gun-carrying permits, etc., but with the Web it's much easier for anyone to publish that information and quickly disseminate it to a large number of people. This has freaked a lot of people out, but my general response is...too bad! Public records are critical to a free and open society, and better technology does not change that. If someone uses public information to harass somebody -- say, for supporting a political candidate or a cause -- than that person doing the harassment is breaking the law, and should be arrested..
This issue has come up a lot lately, most recently to some degree with the case of people protesting outside the homes of wealthy AIG executives. Again, my feeling is that it depends on the conduct. I have no problem with people staying on a public street outside someone's home and conducting a peaceful protest. People have the right in America to travel freely on public roads, take photos from them, even of other people's homes (I seriously don't understand the fuss over Google Street View) and they have the right to make comments or ask questions of people in public places. It would be hypocritical of me to believe otherwise, since my job as journalist has often involved these tasks -- ringing someone's doorbell, for example, when they won't respond to phone calls for an important article involving them or their business.
Which brings us to the case of Bill O'Reilly. The Fox News host has this strange love-hate relationship with stalking. He goes to great lengths to get confrontational video of people -- frequently of other journalists -- who've disagreed with him or offended his sensibilities in some way. His most recent target is a blogger named Amanda Terkel who works for the Center for American Progress in Washington. Without ever contacting Terkel to see if she'd be willing to do a normal interview, O'Reilly sent a crew out to confront her on a public street -- which I assume makes for livelier TV footage. To repeat, I would have no problem with O'Reilly's crew a) waiting outside her office in D.C. as she left work or b) even ringing her doorbell at home to ask if she would agree to an interview, unnecessary as that would have been. Instead, this is what O'Reilly's crew did:
– The Stalking: Watters and his camera man accosted me at approximately 3:45 p.m. on Saturday, March 21, in Winchester, VA, which is a two-hour drive from Washington, DC. My friend and I were in this small town for a short weekend vacation and had told no one about where we were going. I can only infer that the two men staked out my apartment and then followed me for two hours. Looking back, my friend and I remember seeing their tan SUV following us for much of the trip.
That's not journalism -- that's just creepy. I'm not an authority on stalking laws, but it may not even be legal. And by conflating his bizarre TV shock practices with real journalism, he does a lot of collateral damage to the public's right to know. Sometimes I wonder if Keith Olbermann goes to this well a tad too often, but tonight I don't think there's any question that stalker Bill O'Reilly is the...worst...person...in...the..world!
Posted by Will Bunch @ 11:23 PM
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56 comments
Dude, you are paranoid. I wasn't even that worried about the right-wing thugs who raided Florida in 2000, and they were lawyers and wannabes!!!
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bill a.- how do you know the protestors were "left wing gutter thugs"? Are you saying that right wing people support AIG executives taking "your" tax dolars and padding their country club lifestyles? Seems to me, the right-wingers are pretty worked up over this issue as well. Aren't they blaming Obama for letting them have these bonuses? Again bill, READ!
Ok bill, for the last time: If two Daily Show "reporters" tailed a vacationing AIG employee for two hours, that would be stalking! And not cool. When that happens, please let me know. In the future, try reading what I write, because it is clearly evident you are incapable of reading what Will writes. My posts are much shorter.
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bill- the issue was stalking. As described by Will, the two hour tail was a bit stalkerish. This is not a left vs right issue. I only made it one when CB was feeling sorry for the Palin phony fiance party. Did you read Will's piece? I get no pleasure from defending his posts, but he clearly explains the difference between standing in front of a house protesting and driving on someone's tail for two hours. Besides, your ACORN beef is sooooooooo last year and frankly sounds pathetic.
While I'll admit that most big city newspapers do trend liberal that's not the case in other newspapers. I trend liberal as well so it doesn't bother me. To say that all newspapers are liberal is at best an exaggeration and at the worst trend towards stupid.
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CB- Maybe the Alaska trip was spurred by the Self-righteous moralist charade played out at the convention, or perhaps Sarah busting in on her daughter's interview a few weeks back- continuing the lies they all knew long before McCain mistakenly chose her. Will's issue was "stalking" not privacy, read the article if you want to embarrass yourself!
"Liberals = success in far left biased liberal newspapers" *FAR* left? I didn't know The Worker had such a large number of readers. If you think today’s lick-the-boots-of-power MSM is far left you may be caught too much in a fog of your own self righteousness to even recognize what is real and what is spoon-fed you by the same boot-lickers. Talk about Kool Aid alert!
Let's see, who is more important to the United States News types, Bill O'Reilly or NBC News. Seems to me I did not hear anything from Will the other week, when NBC sent an entire team of "reporters" to Alaska to ambush Sarah Palin's daughter's ex fiance to find out why he broke the engagement. This from a news leader and home of Will's man love Olberman. What goes around comes around Will, better write that down.
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"If he were truly independent and Fox was truly 'fair and balanced', they would not be winning the ratings game, for sure." Or more to the point, conservatives feel that Fox News is their only outlet, while liberals have multiple outlets and thereby spread the ratings among CNN, MSNBC, the 3 networks, etc.
ha pagoda! I was going to make that joke too, and I'm a conservative! Conservatives need to figure out -- did they lose the last few elections because a) their candidates were weak b)the country doesn't believe in their platform or c) the country was disgusted with Republican performance over the last 5-6 years.
conservatives = Failures in elections local/national........... conservatives= success in Radio/ Cable News shows.......hmmmmm. Maybe losers need validation or an outlet/validation for their hate.
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TPS, in the end, it really doesn't matter. By being a blogger, this lady is a "public figure", the same as any other journalist. If it's ok to stalk and surprise politicians, business owners, AIG execs, it's ok to stalk and surprise news people/bloggers. The point about, "Who cares what she has to say, anyway?" to me is more relevant then whether it was right for BO'R to stalk her. And remember -- BO'R is an ENTERTAINER, just like Rush. To slightly disagree with grayhippie -- the viewing public today doesn't want civil discourse on issues. They want name calling, shouting, and violent disagreement.
And I forgot - why is a liberal blogger going to a town that has a GUN named after it????
I have to give the O'Reilly crew credit - a one car surveillance from downtown DC to a point 2 hours away without losing the subject vehicle - WOW!!!! Especially if they didn't have any clue where she was going. Good planning too to have a full tank of gas since they didn't know she was taking them on a 2 hour drive. Heck just finding parking in Old Town Winchester on a Saturday and then reacquiring the subject had to be tough. Or maybe Terkel is a little paranoid?? BTW why is no one focusing on the BIG story here - how dare O'Reilly's people drive a tan SUV!!!! Don't they worry about the carbon footprint they are leaving behind at FoxNews???
Bill has a very impressive journalistic past. Then came Inside Edition. He took the money and ran- I don't hold it against him, he just needs to stop calling himself "Independent". If he were truly independent and Fox was truly "fair and balanced", they would not be winning the ratings game, for sure. Conservatives need their demagogues to validate their hate.
I'm amazed that Ms. Terkel didn't get the prerequisite training required before writing any article in any way critical of Bill O'Reilly. First, know how to identify all his professional stalkers (of whom Jesse Watters is numero uno), and then know to immediately answer any and all questions with some combination of "Mackris, Malmedy and Shawn Hornbeck". Maybe also mention Keith Olbermann. These are the sacred words which O'Reilly will never allow to air on his show, meaning thay they will not be able to use any of the video they get of you.
Bunch,it is good to see you are watching O'Reilly. Generally, the left never watches anything with an opposing view. There may still be hope for you to offer a balanced view in the future. Keep watching the MOM, MSNBC balanced presentations.
Idiot - at least Moore attempted to conduct interviews before he resorted to stalking. O'Reilly uses stalking as a first recourse, since sensationalism satisfies his drooling audience. But that's for admitting that O'Reilly is no more of an "investigative journalist," than Moore. So much for that "no-spin zone," eh?
Iggle, the fact remains - the rabid Republican base is marginalized, perhaps permanently. We can quibble about who's in the majority now, but that fact is indisputable.
O'Reilly: "If you cross Fox News Channel, it's not just me, it's Roger Ailes who will go after you. I'm the street guy out front making loud noises about the issues, but Ailes operates behind the scenes, strategizes and makes things happen so that one day BAM! The person gets what's coming to them but never sees it coming. Look at Al Franken, one day he's going to get a knock on his door and life as he's known it will change forever. That day will come, believe me. .... Ailes knows very powerful people, and this goes all the way to the top." Mackris: "To the top of what?" O'Reilly: "Top of the country. Just look at who's on the cover of his book [Bush & Cheney], they're watching him and will be for years. [Al Franken's] finished, and he's going to be sorry he ever took Fox News Channel on". http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris12.html
IggleFan68- Dude, you lost North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Florida, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada... 8.5 million votes short, and less total states. Maybe, just maybe, the younger generation is trending away from moralist b.s. and the obvious hypocricy of the Republican "leaders".
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E.Pleb -- you must really enjoy saying "marginalized minority". You do realize that you are only very temporarily in the majority, don't you? The only Americans who are "progressively liberal" are in NYC and California (and some in Vermont). The entire middle of the country and the South are much more conservative. The reason Obamanama won was that the Republicans in congress, and Bush disappointed these conservatives with their performance (not on Iraq, but on the economy and spending).
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I think Mr Bunch has been working the late shift too long.
Blair, I think many of us consider ourselves good, hardworking with reasonable and rational viewpoints. Unfortunately for the Real Republican Party and its members, it has slowly but surely (Starting with Ronald Reagan) tried to identify itself as Conservative, Independant, and blamed every problem on "government". No one asked them to call themselves "Republican" or leave the party because the message seemed to work for them. The New Blood that entered the party is getting old. -- I prefer not to be subsumed by Pelosi, Frank or President Obama. Self-identified Republicans are more concerned with bringing this country together to avoid the consequences of the Government doing too little to stop the economic downturn. ---
I think the point that Bill-O's defenders are missing is that he probably didn't have to send a stalking crew after her. If he had called or e-mailed her, he would have been able to make any communication he wanted, as opposed to somebody who won't answer messages or letters. Also, those people are usually accused of putting in for bogus hours worked, disability fraud, consumer complaints (like home improvement rip-offs). O'Reilly targets his critics. As old Arn would say..."Ersatz journalist Bill O'Reilly..."
--}}} Bill O'Reilly is a investigative journalist, {{{--- lol! Bill O'Reilly is a muckraker. A hack. He had his minions follow the woman for two hours to confront her on the street rather than request an interview to get information. Now why would that be? Because he's trying to get information, or because he's a ratings whore that has made a career out of sensationalism? Trough call. Keep it up, fellas. The more you applaud this garbage, the more your minority will be marginalized.
Bill O'Really? and the Loofa Brigade of the marginalized minority's lunatic fringe are clearly made for each other.
What about the privacy you demanded after the public men's room incident a few years back? I know it was all a misunderstanding, similiar to a "Three'c Company" episode, but what about the issue of privacy there?
Right Stank, 'cause O'Reilly doesn't pander to the ruling party at Fox News. Personally, I have no problem with what Bill does- I choose to watch him when I want a laugh, a chuckle, or an amazing youtube outtake. I don't expect real news, nor want it from him. Why would anyone on the Right seriously expect neutral opinions from left-leaning editorialists on this site? Every day I read the whiners' rants about lefty bias- NO DUHHHH! This is Philly, Republicans' only role is fleecing the State by pocketing Parking Authority revenue.
Billdo is a first class creep. The same guy who ripped Clinton for his affair coukldn't keep it in his pants himself. lol.....I bet he even smells bad!
"That's not journalism -- that's just creepy." But of course: O'Reilly in his Factor incarnation isn't a journalist, he's just a creep. And a highly successful creep at that. Unfortunately, Glen Beck's over the top antics have raised the bar for all TV news personalities to provide ever more aggressive/obnoxious spectacles in the name of giving voice to people's anger at current conditions. And we the viewers demand and reward this. We don't want earnest debate about the relative merits of the policy issues or a sober analysis of bloggers' points; we want emotion and spectacle. There's a huge sense of déjà vu for me because I'm old enough to remember that this is exactly what the big televangelists did in the late 80s/early 90s as viewers grew tired of their straight preaching gigs but tuned back in for weepy confessionals and other antics. **sniff, sniff** I...just...love...my TV...so much...and I'm...fearful.. for it...
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I saw the part in question, and Amanda handled it just fine- she is a an adult, no big deal. If you saw it, Bill's reporter was "soo scary" , that the guy she was with stepped aside and let Amanda answer the questions-where is the controversy?
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"investigative news reporters follow people all the time, catching them at inopportune times." . . . . . . Iggle, that's a fair point, but what's so newsworthy in following a blogger to Winchester and ambushing her on the street with a rhetorical question? Did you learn anything you couldn't have known otherwise?
". . . . . Has any AIG exec been critical of FoxNews?".....has the Inky/DN been critical of anything Obama has done? What bias?
Hmmm -- investigative news reporters follow people all the time, catching them at inopportune times. Could it be, Willy Bunch, that you are upset that now that treatment has been extended to liberal "bloggers"?? And "Worst person in the world"... Right. Osama Bin Laden, Charles Manson, Bernie Madoff, Hugo Chavez, Barnie Frank, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, the governor of NY. I just named 6 people right off the top of my head who are much worse people then Bill O'Reilly. Again, success makes people jealous. Personally, I think Bill is a pompous a**, but he seems to draw a certain crowd, kind of like an anti-Howard Stern.
"It would obviously be ok if she was an AIG executive instead of a liberal blogger." . . . . . . . Has any AIG exec been critical of FoxNews?
"...that her target may have a bazooka." . . . Or worse, a loofah.
What a shame. Really. Boo hoo. It would obviously be ok if she was an AIG executive instead of a liberal blogger.
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Yeah, you never saw anything like that on 60 minutes...oh wait. Ms. Terkel should realize if she wants to shoot spitballs from behind her computer, that her target may have a bazooka.
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Many self-identified Republicans cannot stand O'Reilly or Limbaugh or the religious right projecting the "message" of the party. The old ideals of fiscal responsibility and self-determination have been utterly subsumed by crazy rhetoric. It's a shame that those of us who are good, hard-working people with reasonable and rational viewpoints get lumped in with these idiots anytime we disagree with Pelosi or Frank or the President.
Will, only one of your Wingnut commentators has spoke up so far, and even he didn't have the guts to defend O'Reilly.
You're just mad because nobody cares about your book. Go cling to a bible, bitter Billy Bunch.
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About Will Bunch
Will's book: Learn about it here and purchase it here.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
Will Bunch, a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, blogs about his obsessions, including national and local politics and world affairs, the media, pop music, the Philadelphia Phillies, soccer and other sports, not necessarily in that order.
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