The O'Reilly Factor

The O'Reilly Factor

Promotional image from FoxNews.com
Also known as The O'Reilly Report
(1996-1998)
Format Political Commentary
Created by Bill O'Reilly
Presented by Bill O'Reilly
Country of origin United States
No. of episodes 4,321
Production
Running time 60 minutes
Production company(s) Fox News Channel
Broadcast
Original channel Fox News Channel
Picture format 480i (16:9 letterbox SDTV)
720p (16:9 HDTV)
Original run October 7, 1996 (1996-10-07) – present
External links
Website

The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998[1] and often called The Factor, is an American talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.

The program was the most watched cable news show in the United States in 2007 and 2008.[2][3][4] By September 2009, it had been the #1 U.S. cable news show for 106 consecutive months.[5]

Contents

Format

The O'Reilly Factor is usually prerecorded, though it is occasionally aired live if breaking news or special events are being covered. It is usually taped between 5:00 and 7:00 PM Eastern Standard Time and airs weekdays at 8:00 PM, 11:00 PM, and 5:00 AM EST. Some guests are interviewed before the "live to tape" period and are slotted in the program as appropriate.[6]

O'Reilly and his producers discuss potential topics twice a week.[7] A producer will research the story and book guests for O'Reilly, and an information packet will be produced with possible angles for O'Reilly to explore. The producers will often "pre-interview" the guest so that they know what potential points he or she might make.[8] For each show, O'Reilly, with the assistance of his staff, will produce a script with the words for the "Talking Points Memo" and "Pinheads and Patriots" segments, and points of discussion and questions for the guests that will appear on the program. On February 2, 2009 the show launched in high definition and moved to the previous studio used by the Fox Report.

Radio talk show host Laura Ingraham is the current regular guest host, though Mike Huckabee, Juan Williams, Monica Crowley, Eric Bolling, and Greg Gutfeld have also filled in.

Segments

The show is divided into titled segments, appearing in the following general order. Not all segments appear in all programs, and occasionally segments will repeat.

Occasionally, the following segments appear:

Audience

Early in 2009, the show's ratings increased.[9] In July 2009, Hal Boedeker blogged that The O'Reilly Factor peaked at 3.1 million viewers which was an increase of 37% from the previous year.[10] In September 2009, The O'Reilly Factor was the #1 cable news show for 106 consecutive weeks.[5]

Guests

O'Reilly's first guest was General Barry McCaffrey, then the Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (or "Drug Czar"). Over the years, many other well-known political figures and celebrities have appeared regularly on the show.

Regular guests

2008 presidential contenders

Bill O'Reilly had tried for years to get Hillary Clinton to come on the show.[12] On April 30, 2008, Clinton agreed to come on the show as part of a pre-taped interview that would be broadcast over two days.[13][14][15][16][17]

O'Reilly also held an exclusive, four-part interview with then-presidential candidate Barack Obama.

Both interviews drew significant media attention as they were front runners for the 2008 presidential election.

The 2008 Republican candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin, and then Democratic Vice President candidate Joe Biden were also invited to the show, but chose not to make an appearance.[18]

Parodies

In 2005, The Colbert Report premiered on Comedy Central. The show, hosted by Stephen Colbert, is a satirical spoof of pundit shows like The O'Reilly Factor, spoofing its format and the mannerisms and ideology of O'Reilly, whom Colbert calls "Papa Bear." Colbert makes no secret of his spoofing O'Reilly: upon hearing the news that O'Reilly approved of The Colbert Report, he declared on-air that "I like you too. In fact, if it wasn't for you, this show wouldn't exist."[19] On January 18, 2007, Colbert appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and O'Reilly appeared on The Colbert Report.[20][21]

The O'Reilly Factor has also been spoofed on Saturday Night Live, first by Jeff Richards and later on by Darrell Hammond. On MADtv it was Michael McDonald doing the honors. O'Reilly himself has appeared on MADtv.[22] Richards also played O'Reilly in an episode of Mind of Mencia where O'Reilly is a senator in the year 2016.

The show was also spoofed by the TV series The Boondocks; first in the episode "The Trial of R. Kelly" where O'Reilly is shown talking about R. Kelly's latest legal trouble. Later in "Return of the King", O'Reilly is shown attacking Martin Luther King for saying that America should "love thy enemy" and "turn the other cheek", even in respects to the 9/11 attacks. O'Reilly accuses him of hating America and tells him to "Take another 40 year nap, Commie bastard."

The Political Machine features a skit called "The O'Malley Scenario" ("A show you appear on while running for president").

In Arrested Development, the failed Bluth company frequently features on The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day segment.

CNNNN, an Australian comedy show which satirized cable news, featured a recurring segment entitled The Firth Factor. These segments typically showed Charles Firth, a member of the Chaser comedy team, presenting his opinion on topical issues, often through use of over-the-top comparisons (such as dipping a paper heart in a can of black paint and claiming: "This is how black Saddam Hussein's heart is") and outrageous statements in a parody of O'Reilly and Australian current affairs personalities. The Chaser's War on Everything also featured a segment in its second season where it poked fun at the O'Reilly factor.

In 2008 Talkshow with Spike Feresten has begun parodying O'Reilly with a series of videos entitled "Lil Bill O'Reilly", using a child as O'Reilly. The original video has become widespread throughout the Internet.

In the 2010 film Iron Man 2, O'Reilly is shown on The O'Reilly Factor criticizing Tony Stark's decision to promote Pepper Potts to be the CEO of his company.[23]

In 2011 he also makes a cameo appearance in the film Transformers: Dark of the Moon.[24]

References

  1. ^ [1] Cloapinto, John. (2004-08-11). "Mad Dog", Rolling Stone
  2. ^ Posted by Chris. "Olbermann's Win A Surprise Even Inside MSNBC - mediabistro.com: TVNewser". Mediabistro.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/msnbc/olbermanns_win_a_surprise_even_inside_msnbc_66715.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  3. ^ Posted by SteveK. "Q2 2008 Ratings: Rankers - mediabistro.com: TVNewser". Mediabistro.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/q2_2008_ratings_rankers_88369.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  4. ^ "Weekday Ranker". Media Bistro. 2008. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/original/2Q%20'08%20FINAL%20competitive%20P2%20Adobe%20(2).pdf%20-%20Adobe%20Acrobat%20Professional1.pdf. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  5. ^ a b Ariens, Chris (September 29, 2009). "Q3 Cable Ratings: FNC Shows Fill Top 10; #3 Network on Cable; Beck Grows Timeslot 136%". WebMediaBrands Inc.. Media Bistro. http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/q3_cable_ratings_fnc_shows_fill_top_10_3_network_on_cable_beck_grows_timeslot_136_137122.asp?c=rss. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  6. ^ "Bill O'Reilly.com behind the scenes Q/A". http://www.billoreilly.com/audienceletters;jsessionid=E6A7BB766D6BF7005C74537CFC7437CF. 
  7. ^ "Bostonia - BU alumni quarterly". 2001. http://www.bu.edu/alumni/bostonia/2001/fall/oreilly/index.html. 
  8. ^ "Accuracy in media report". 2003. http://www.aim.org/aim_report/A214_0_4_0_C/. 
  9. ^ Gorman, Bill (February 6, 2009). "Obama Administration Boosts O’Reilly Factor TV Ratings". TVbytheNumbers. http://tvbythenumbers.com/2009/02/06/obama-administration-boosts-oreilly-factor-tv-ratings/12326. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  10. ^ Boedeker, Hal (July, 28 2009). "Fox News dominates July ratings; Bill O’Reilly again tops — and Nancy Grace makes impressive gains". Orlando Sentinel. http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2009/07/fox-news-dominates-july-contest-bill-oreilly-again-tops.html. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  11. ^ Malkin, Michelle. "Michelle Malkin » Stiiiiill going". Michellemalkin.com. http://michellemalkin.com/2007/10/15/stiiiiill-going/. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  12. ^ By, Posted (2008-04-29). "SFGate: Politics Blog : Hillary Goes on O'Reilly Wednesday for first time!". Sfgate.com. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/blogs/sfgate/detail?blogid=14&entry_id=26087. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  13. ^ "Hillary Clinton, meet Bill O'Reilly | Top of the Ticket | Los Angeles Times". Latimesblogs.latimes.com. 2008-04-29. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/04/hillary-clin-15.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  14. ^ "Chron.commons | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle". Chron.com. http://www.chron.com/commons/persona.html?newspaperUserId=desperado&plckController=PersonaBlog&plckScript=personaScript&plckElementId=personaDest&plckPersonaPage=BlogViewPost&plckPostId=Blog%3AdesperadoPost%3A357a7ca4-ddad-48cb-84c3-9375433cf075. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  15. ^ Carl Macgowan. "Clinton to appear on O'Reilly show - Newsday.com". Newsday.com. http://www.newsday.com/news/local/politics/ny-ushill305668357apr30,0,3974843.story. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  16. ^ "The Hillary Factor | The Trail | washingtonpost.com". Blog.washingtonpost.com. http://blog.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/04/30/the_hillary_factor.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  17. ^ Rhee, Foon (2008-04-30). "Clinton's unusual political bedfellows - 2008 Presidential Campaign Blog - Political Intelligence - Boston.com". Boston.com. http://www.boston.com/news/politics/politicalintelligence/2008/04/clintons_unusua.html. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  18. ^ Posted by Patrick. "O'Reilly: "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not acting." - mediabistro.com: FishbowlDC". Mediabistro.com. http://www.mediabistro.com/fishbowlDC/television/oreilly_im_mad_as_hell_and_im_not_acting_95868.asp. Retrieved 2008-11-21. 
  19. ^ Solomon, Deborah (2005-09-25). "Funny About the News". New York Times Magazine. http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/25/magazine/25questions.html. Retrieved 2010-05-25. 
  20. ^ Stephen Colbert Enters the No Spin Zone. Foxnews.com Published . Last Retrieved .
  21. ^ Bill O'Reilly Pt. 1. ComedyCentral.com January 18, 2007. Last Retrieved.
  22. ^ ""MADtv" Episode #9.17 (2004) - Full cast and crew". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0639195/fullcredits. Retrieved May 27, 2010. 
  23. ^ "Iron Man 2 cast". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1228705/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved June 09, 2011. 
  24. ^ "Transformers: Dark of the Moon cast". Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1399103/fullcredits#cast. Retrieved July 10, 2011. 
Preceded by
Fox Report
Fox News Channel Weekday Lineup
8:00 PM –9:00 PM
Succeeded by
Hannity
Preceded by
On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren
Fox News Channel Weekday Lineup
11:00 PM –12:00 PM (replay)
Succeeded by
Hannity (replay)

External links