To follow up his slam he sent out his executive producer, Ron Mitchell, to write an oped to rebut the study and Rosa Brook's LA Times column on the study.
What Bill and his consort said has been responded to by Brooks, Tim Cavanaugh (Times "Blowback" editor and the researchers. But what becomes more a concern for the fans of O'Reilly - and I am sincerely concerned for the Folks™ - is that Bill, who often says that those who don't come on his show are "cowards," has not invited any of the researchers onto the Factor. That would seem to make Bill a coward and no fan of Bill ever wants him to be thought of as a coward...even if he is. He could normally spin his way out of any detremental situation, but not this one.
Maria Grabe, one of the three researchers of the study, as I reported in my column, said that she was available to go on the Factor, but has yet to hear from Bill. She's even sent Bill the oped that she and her fellow researchers wrote that appeared this morning at the LATimes.com\blowback site (the same place Mitchell's column appeared) and said she'd be "happy to appear on the Factor." As of the writing of this column, nothing.
While Bill has no problem vilifying anyone he disagrees with; attacks with distortions, problematic incrimination and out and out lies. This morning he said that Anderson Cooper and his guys like abortion. Oh, he'll hit a caller with the old "name one lie" canard and if the caller doesn't have one at the ready, he'll...well, name-call. On the other hand, there's a plethora of lies that Bill has perpetuated which many people have at hand, and other than some e-mailer, he won't bring on those people.
Need a lie? Today, Bill told a caller that, "if I hear someone on the Right (badmouthing someone) I'd be all over them." Is there anyone in the world who believes that? Even the Folks™ know that if he took a right wing blowhard to task more than one time out of a hundred that he attacks the left (I think I'm being extremely conservative), it would be a shocker.
This is just another example of how Bill, who makes a living out of calling others liars, smear-merchants, hateful and other assorted attacks, is the the one who is actually on the hate-filled attacks. One might even call him a hypocrite. Bill has long been compared favorably with Joe McCarthy. But even McCarthy had the guts to show up on Ed Murrow's show.
With his fear and unwillingness to confront the young lady researcher, Bill shows himself for who he really is: a coward and a hypocrite. Thought I think I'm being extremely conservative.
Disclaimer: Steve Young is author of "Great Failures of the Extremely Successful" (www.greatfailure.com) and his "All The News That's Fit To Spoof" appears in L.A. Daily News opeds every Sunday (www.dailynews.com/steveyoung), right next to Bill's...really.