The No Spin Zone?

Over the past few years, the most prominent news source on cable television has become FOX News.  All other news outlets have decreased in viewers while FOX continues to grow.  The question that everybody should be asking is “why?”  For the past two weeks, I followed the number one rated news show on cable television, “The O’Reilly Factor,” hosted by Bill O’Reilly.  Bill O’Reilly has been in the broadcasting business for over thirty years, and his FOX show has been airing since 1996.  In the very beginning of every show, Bill starts off by saying, “CAUTION!  You are about to enter the ‘no spin zone’.”  Essentially, Bill is stating that during the entirety of his show, you will hear nothing but the political facts that have not been manipulated.  After one objectively watches Bill’s show after a while, they realize that it should be retitled “The All Spin Zone.”  For one hour every night, Bill O’Reilly forces his agenda upon the viewer by making harsh statements with very little logic or reasoning to back it up.  The show is pure opinion.  Bill does bring on people who oppose his views, but never gives them the time to effectively explain their argument.  When it comes to political spin, Bill O’Reilly is the cream of the crop.

“The Factor” is structured roughly the same way every night.  Bill starts off with his “Talking Points.”  He will pick out a big news story of the day, make a conclusion about that news story, then make the same conclusion about a broader topic.  For example, a news story had broken out about a school that forced a student to purchase a different lunch than what she had packed because it did not meet the guidelines set by U.S. Department of Agriculture.  Bill took this story and stated that the country is now a “nanny state.”  In other words, Bill claims that liberals want the government to regulate everything and want the government to tell us exactly what to do in all instances.  He even called President Obama the “nanny state champion.” Frankly, Bill’s conclusion is pure opinion.  It would make sense if he made the conclusion that the U.S. Department of Agriculture is going too far with their health guidelines.  Instead, Bill said the government is regulating everything Americans do.  It is a big illogical jump.

Generally, the 2012 presidential race would be the first or second story depending upon whether one of the candidates did something controversial that day.  Through watching many days of “The O’Reilly Factor,” the only two Republican candidates even mentioned were Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney.  If one is to look at Bill’s rhetoric hard enough, they will discover that he prefers Rick Santorum over Mitt Romney.  Bill was heard constantly stating that he thinks Mitt Romney is a “nice guy;” but when talking about Mitt’s conservatism, he claims Mitt does not feel it.  If this were a onetime passing comment, one would not think anything of it; however, Bill said these exact words on many different days, even asking interviewees if they agreed that Romney does not “feel it” when he talks about conservatism.  When it came to Santorum, the only bad press Bill gave him was when his millionaire campaign supporter made controversial statements about women and birth control.  Otherwise, Bill would make passing comments about knowing Rick, what a nice guy he is, and even saying that Rick at least feels his conservatism.

Bill tended to use very loaded language when talking about the Democratic Party and President Obama.  One thing people might not pick up on often is that Bill very rarely refers to President Obama with the “president” title.  Instead, he usually refers to him as “Mr. Obama.”  Simply by using the “Mr.” instead of “President,” Bill immediately places Barack Obama on a lower level by not referring to him by his proper title.  His loaded language was not all about Barack Obama.  Whenever referring to democrats or liberals, there was always a snarl or a sense of sarcasm in his voice.  During an interview with Leslie Marshall, in a very snarky fashion, Bill refered to her as a “flaming liberal.”  One of Bill’s favorite words on his show is “pinhead.”  Whenever there is somebody who does not agree with him or uses a different line of logic than he does, he refers to him as them as a “pinhead.”  He even has a segment at the very end of his show called “Pinhead or Patriot” in which he determines if someone who was in the news that day did something stupid.  However, with a title like “Pinhead or Patriot,” Bill is insinuating that if somebody does not live up to his definition of “patriot,” they are lacking in intelligence and is not “American.”

One of the most shocking aspects of “The O’Reilly Factor” is Bill’s interviews with other people.  Typically, Bill will have a Republican and Democrat on to argue an issue, or he will have just a Republican.  Nine times out of ten, when he talked to just a Republican, they were a “FOX News Contributor” with loyalties to the network.  When Bill would talk to the FOX News contributors, he would be much kinder, would allow them to talk more, and there was generally less arguing.  However, when there was a Republican and Democrat, Bill would use the spin technique, selectivity.  First, Bill would never let the Democrat completely explain their point of view.  Generally, he would cut them off before they could get to the point and berate them with his own point of view.  The other thing Bill might do is discuss the topic at hand with the Republican, but when he would get to the Democrat, he would argue something different.  For example, Bill had a discussion regarding whether substance addiction is a disease or a choice.  It became quite clear that Bill believes it is a choice considering the interviewee arguing that side was not berated.  However, when Bill talked to the person who believed it was a disease, Bill decided to argue with her about why she thinks medical marijuana should be legalized.  Bill then proceeded to yell at her about why medical marijuana is a bad idea and would barely let her speak.  This is selectivity because Bill is ignoring any facts that might disprove his beliefs.  He does not want his viewers to hear anything that is an alternate to “conservative values.”

Frankly, “The O’Reilly Factor” is one of the most spin filled television shows on television.  It is intended for extreme right-wing conservatives who believe that anything that does not bear the Republican crest is evil.  This show even goes as far to brainwash its viewers by claiming it is the “no spin zone.”  Bill O’Reilly does not hide the fact that he is extremely biased and right-wing leaning; however, the people who watch his show do not seem to understand that.  It would be my sheer hope that eventually people would realize how biased this show is and would understand that.  Until then, it will be shows like this that cause our country to be so politically split.

Trevor Kurtz
Communication Studies
Wilkes 2013