Posted on 10/14/2004 5:29:03 PM PDT by wagglebee
Despite lurid charges of sexual harassment, Bill O'Reilly hasn't lost a single newspaper client for his column, and the man who heads the syndicate that distributes the column says he stands behind the top-rated host of "The O'Reilly Factor."
"I'm behind him 100 percent," Creators Syndicate President Rick Newcombe told Editor & Publisher (E&P). "I think this is politically motivated. Bill is a lightning rod for criticism because he has strong views and can be very critical of the other side. He's a big target."
Andrea Mackris, an associate producer on O'Reilly's Fox News Channel show, filed a lawsuit accusing O'Reilly of speaking to her against her will about sex, vibrators and more after O'Reilly had filed a lawsuit charging her and her attorneys with extortion.
She quotes O'Reilly as threatening any women who complained about his advances and as saying that Fox News head Roger Ailes would retaliate against enemies of the cable channel.
Newcombe told E&P that none of O'Reilly's newspapers has canceled the column or mentioned the case of alleged sexual harassment.
O'Reilly's weekly feature appears in 300-plus papers, according to Creators, making him one of the more widely syndicated opinion columnists.
According to E&P, O'Reilly - married and the father of two - had criticized President Clinton and others involved in sex scandals.
He filed suit against Mackris, accusing her of trying to extort $60 million from him and saying her allegations may be motivated by her attorney's connections to the Democratic Party as the presidential election nears.
Newcombe told E&P he wondered if the legal tussle was another offshoot of the "mean-spirited" campaigns waged by both Democrats and Republicans.
"Bill has been unfairly accused so many times of so many things," added Newcombe, whose syndicate began distributing O'Reilly's column in early 2001. "I've gotten to know Bill for three or four years. His family is extremely important to him. He and his wife, and he and his children, are very close. Bill is loyal, honest and straightforward. He's demanding, but knows how to say thanks. He is a genuinely honorable person."
Who is the "other side"?
The liberals have always hated him and most conservatives I talk to can't stand him anymore either.
I may think he's an idiot but he's still innocent till proven guilty.
He has NOT issued a categorical denial of the claims, however..
I'll extend him the same benefit of doubt he extended the Swift Boat Vets and POWs.
I would be happy if he would just get off the air.
And just what other things has BO'Re been accused of over the years?
Hey, its just about sex. Lets move on.
geez, after what we've all been through with the mongrel in the white house squirting the walls, who cares. this chick sounds like a total loser/manipulator. why the heck would she go back to him and what the heck threat was there to her, even if it's all true. who cares.
This is part of a concerted attack by the left. They "got" Rush Limbaugh (via his housekeeper) - though there are still no charges filed. And they bragged that they would get Hannity, but it seems they "got" O'Reilly instead by using an employee that he was a little too friendly towards. It so looks like a setup but no matter, O'Reilly will get dragged through the mud just like Rush.
Muz be the other, OTHER side:)
About a year ago, wasn't he accused to making some racial remark at a charity dinner? I remember he issued denials about that pretty quickly.
:)
I think everyone needs to relax here. Like him or not; that's not the point. The point is that he, like everyone, deserves a fair hearing in the court of law, and we should try not to pre-judge (regardless of what he's said about the Swiftvets).
I agree that he often is annoying with his constant fence-sitting, but I think he still deserves a fair shake.
How many times do you think this comment has been heard in the halls of FOX today?
"Colmes, wipe that smirk off your face before I wipe it off for you."
His statements today have been interesting. He does not deny the events occurred and his lawyer indicated that tapes may exist.
I wonder what his cell phone bill is each month?
This I don't believe. This line tries to make us believe not that O'Reilly is a harrasser but that he is a sexual predator run amok in a news operation.
I don't buy it.
"A little too Friendly?" Where I come from if your 60 year old boss calls you on the phone with a personal appliance running he has without a doubt crossed the line of being a little too friendly.
This is why I and (truth be known) thousands of other business men prefer to only hire ugly married older women. In business, it is about risk management.
agreed ... I could care less about O'reilly, but I do believe this is an attack on Fox News Network more than O'reilly. Once this is clear, I think they should distance themselves from him anyway ... I think Rush Limbaugh would be a better replacement!! ;-)
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