Last month, I had one of the most chilling experiences of my career as a reporter-blogger. I had planned on taking a day off from writing on ThinkProgress.org and going on a short vacation to a small town in Virginia. Instead, I ended up being followed from my apartment and ambushed by O’Reilly Factor producer Jesse Watters and his cameraman.
It all started on March 1, when I wrote a post reporting that Bill O’Reilly was slated to speak at a March 19 benefit for the Alexa Foundation, a group that supports rape survivors. I noted that O’Reilly had made controversial comments in 2006 about Jennifer Moore, a woman who was raped and murdered. In my interpretation, he seemed to imply that it was partially her fault by calling her “moronic,” and adding:
Now Moore, Jennifer Moore, 18, on her way to college. She was 5-foot-2, 105 pounds, wearing a miniskirt and a halter top with a bare midriff. Now, again, there you go. So every predator in the world is gonna pick that up at two in the morning. She’s walking by herself on the West Side Highway, and she gets picked up by a thug. All right. Now she’s out of her mind, drunk.
That three-week-old post was the furthest thing from my mind when my friend and I drove two hours from Washington, D.C. to Winchester, Virginia, on March 21. But when we left the hotel, two men crossed the street toward me, calling out my name. They stood in front of me, put a microphone in my face, and asked me why I was causing “pain and suffering” to rape victims (by writing my March 1 post). What I didn’t immediately realize—but later found out—was that they were sent by O’Reilly.
The scariest part of this experience was how O’Reilly’s crew found me. I hadn’t told anyone where I was going that weekend, and the hotel reservation wasn’t in my name. However, my friend remembered seeing a tan SUV following us for much of the trip; that same vehicle was then parked on the street where I was ambushed. I can only ascertain that O’Reilly’s men found my home address, staked out my apartment, followed me for two hours into rural Virginia, and then ambushed me.
My editor and I immediately decided that I would write up my experience and expose O’Reilly’s ambush “journalism” on Monday morning. The outrage was instantaneous. Even conservatives—who don’t generally agree with me ideologically—thought O’Reilly had gone too far. During his segment that night on the incident, O’Reilly never mentioned how he had his crew follow me or the fact that he never first contacted me for a statement. He also never actually showed what I originally reported. Instead, O’Reilly accused me of deliberately attacking the Alexa Foundation (which I never did) and made up a conspiracy theory about ThinkProgress being in a cabal with NBC News.
Since the incident, I have often wondered why O’Reilly targeted me—or for that matter, anyone else at ThinkProgress. He has ambushed nearly forty other people, but they have usually been bigger catches: The New Yorker’s senior editor Hendrik Hertzberg, General Electric CEO Jeffrey Immelt, Rep. Robert Wexler (D-FL), and even CJR editor Mike Hoyt. I seemed to be the first blogger to really get under O’Reilly’s skin.
I think the answer lies in what ThinkProgress does. O’Reilly thinks we’re “insects” who run a “hate Web site.” I have a different view. I believe that we’re a new type of journalists. We still do traditional journalism work—reporting, breaking news, explaining complicated policies to the public. However, some of the most exciting parts of the job are less traditional—rapid-response research, pressing for progressive policies, and promoting media accountability.
ThinkProgress certainly isn’t alone in this type of work, and O’Reilly recognizes that. One of Watters’s questions to me was why, in my March 1 post, I linked to an item by the progressive media watchdog group Media Matters. Watters said that we were all part of a “smear pipeline.” Many progressive blogs now spend a considerable amount of time monitoring Fox News, highlighting controversial commentary, and fact-checking the network’s reporting.
Great article Amanda! I want to push you a little on one point though - O’Reilly's viewers. I think it may be heavy-handed to describe them as 'like-minded' - the implication being that they think the same as O'Reilly. There is, I would imagine, a segment of them who do march in lockstep with O'Reilly (like Rush's dittoheads) but I can't help but imagine that quite a few of the 3+ million viewers are probably quite different from O'Reilly.
O'Reilly, in my view, does what he does with eyes wide-open. He is out to get people, he is willing to distort, twist, harass, berate and belittle whatever and whomever he wants. That people would sit and watch the garbage he puts on the air makes it seem like they are be like-minded, since their willingness to tune-in betokens acceptance of his demagoguery.
But I think that the narrative O'Reilly tells hits home with some people who are otherwise reasonable individuals - many of whom may be co-workers, family members, etc. For a variety of reasons, people identify with him. I don't mean to psychoanalyze his audience, but I understand people who respond to the kind of paternalistic, no non-sense approach he appears to offer. Imagine the father from Wonder Years, or the stereotypical gruff 1950s father who doesn't take BS from anyone. O'Reilly's pompous, overbearing approach taps into this in some ways. I think there are a lot (not all, but a good number) of people who watch him and upon further introspection would admit that things he says are over the line. It's not a question of naiveté, I am guessing they probably aren't in the habit of deconstructing and analyzing everything they come across - a process that many progressives have internalized and do automatically. It seems hardwired into the political philosophy on some level, whether we are upholding (ie. conserving) tradition or marching onward (progredior).
#1 Posted by Michael, CJR on Fri 10 Apr 2009 at 10:47 PM
If this is what you think intimidation is, then you got some pretty thin skin.
#2 Posted by Mike H, CJR on Tue 14 Apr 2009 at 10:36 AM
Political Blogging is about going into the frey and accepting criticism of what you write.
Last I checked Amanda, we live in a two party system. If you consider yourslf a member of the "press," what are you doing being partisan?
And if you are a partisan, why can't you handle criticsm? You're first instinct is to silence your critic. So much for First Amendment rights.
Here is my challenge Amanda:
Show me when you have defended a partisan (or talk radio show or TV show) of the Right to speak and contridict your views.
Find me a link to a post you wrote, and I will link to it at my Blog. If you can't, then Pot, meet kettle.
#3 Posted by JSF, CJR on Wed 15 Apr 2009 at 05:33 PM
Thin skin indeed. You can dish it out, but you can't take it. Incidentally, I watch The Factor AND I know your rep.
#4 Posted by Bob K, CJR on Fri 17 Apr 2009 at 05:49 PM