Bill O’Reilly is undeniably a cable news legend. During his time at Fox News hosting The O’Reilly Factor, millions tuned into his 8 PM ET program which was later held by hosts like Tucker Carlson and protege Jesse Watters after his high-profile exit from the company in 2017.
All of that means that Bill O’Reilly knows a thing or two about cable news. And when he looks at the landscape today, he doesn’t have a glowing endorsement.
“There was a huge change in cable news. And unfortunately, it’s not for the better,” posited O’Reilly. “The reason that it rose to prominence was that it gave the American viewers something that network news would not. And that is strong opinion in prime time. Well, you still have that opinion, but you don’t have debate. So on all of these outlets, what they do is bring in people who agree with them. And it’s boring. That’s why the numbers are going down, and they’re going down fast.
“Then you have a huge political component in some of the operations, where the management basically tells the talent — like MSNBC — ‘You’re going to be left-wing and that’s it. That’s what you’re gonna be because that’s our audience, that’s how we make money, and you better do it or we’ll look somebody else. Once you get into that realm, you’re not a news operation anymore. And to portray yourself as one is fraud.”
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