O’Reilly on Radio: It’s a ‘Done Deal’

newsmax ^ | Sunday, Dec. 23

[classygreeneyedblonde]

Fox News Channel phenom Bill O’Reilly is gearing up for a network radio show on Westwood One beginning this March, NewsMax learned this weekend.

A source familiar with Westwood, the nation’s largest provider of content to radio stations, said the new O’Reilly program was "a done deal.”

As it stands, O’Reilly will go head-to-head with conservative Rush Limbaugh, the nation’s most listened to radio host, in the 12 to 3PM EST slot.

O'Reilly will also join Westwood's stellar lineup of radio talent, which includes Don Imus, Laura Ingraham, Tom Leykis, G. Gordon Liddy and Jim Bohannon.

Our source said O’Reilly is anxious to get started, and Westwood has already begun lining up stations.

One major hiccup is finding O’Reilly a New York outlet, the nation’s biggest radio market and one believed to be key to an early syndication success.

Currently, talk station WABC in New York carries Rush Limbaugh.

Westwood is already in negotiations with WABC competitor, 50,000 watt powerhouse WOR, which airs "King of Talk” Bob Grant during rush hour.

Currently, WOR has no political talk for its Grant lead-in during the 12-3 slot. Still, WOR execs won’t give Westwood the time.

WOR has offered to air O’Reilly, but on tape delay in the evening.

But that move may mean O’Reilly’s radio program will compete with its top-rated cable program.

A success on talk radio will solidify O’Reilly as one of the top media properties in America.

His radio audience could easily be several times larger than his cable one, and industry experts say O’Reilly could easily pull $10 million a year from his radio gig – significantly more than his multi-million Fox deal.

[McGavin999]

Rush tried TV, he didn't translate well. By the same token, O'Reilly won't translate well to radio. Half of O'Reilly's appeal is his facial expressions. That won't show on the radio and he'll just sound like a blowhard.

All his "I'm on the side of The Folks is getting a little old too.

[Fresh Wind]

I welcome an alternative to Rush, when Rush starts off name dropping, or yakking about golf, or whatever his vanity du jour is. Sadly, because of his hearing, he doesn't interact with callers much anymore, though that might improve with the implant surgery. I really appreciate guests, and that has never been Rush's style. Contracts notwithstanding, if his hearing isn't restored, Rush should consider dropping back to a shorter show, monologues only, and no callers.

[tbeatty]

You have a very pretty....font. But when your response is long enough to hit yellow, I can't read it :(

[John Farson]

Yeah, and Rush's concentration on the meaningless political minutia is wearing thin too. The only conservative issue he speaks about with any passion or frequency seems to be tax cuts.

[afuturegovernor]

I'm wondering if this will just get O'Reilly labeled as a bias right-wing journalist. I'm not bashing O'Reilly, just wonder if this will affect the way he is seen on TV.

[Waco]

We don't really need a souped-up Boortz do we?

[Brimack34]

It sounds to me we have some seminar poster's. He hardly ever talks about golf. 5 minutes every now and again maybe. He also does a lot more then talk about tax cut's ( to me that is a very important subject) It seems some people don't listen that much at all. He will beat O'Reilly with his whole brain tyed behind his back. I do like O.R. but he is far from a conservative. And that seems to be what you need to truly servive in Talk Radio.

[RickyJ]

I doubt very seriously if Rush will retire any time soon. He loves radio too much to even contemplate retirement at this time in his life. If he was going to retire any time soon he would have already done so considering the huge hurdles he's had to overcome to do his radio show totally deaf.

[.45MAN]

Theres still a lot of poeple out there that do not listen to talk radio but they watch O'Reilly on TV, they just might go to the radio too. I don't often listen to Rush, maybe I should but I would at least give O'Reilly a shot.....

[revtown]

Who cares? I have to work, and never hear Rush, now I'll never hear O'Reilly either.
At least he has a TV show thats on later. I miss Rush's TV show.

[backhoe]

I think this is good news.... we need more people exposed to "non-mainstream media" ideas and questions, and another voice like this should be welcomed by all.

[SubMareener]

Rush tried TV, he didn't translate well.

I beg to differ with you on this. Rush did very well on TV, but it wasn't what he wanted to do with his time. The kind of show preparation that he had to do for TV was very different from the show preparation he does for radio.

You must have missed the times, usually on Fridays, that he has explained this.

Join Rush 24/7 and you can see the best clips from the TV show. Date range from December 17, 1992 through November 16, 1996. That is a longer run on TV than the original Star Trek series.

[duffi]

I rarely miss his show, but I agree that his ego is getting out of hand. If his head gets much bigger, they are going to have to widen the doorways at Fox to accommodate it.He won't hurt Rush. He's much too abrasive to listen to for 3 hours.

[cynicalman]

I used to be a big Rush Fan. But the last two years have been his worst. He goes on and on and on about whatever his topic is that day. He rarely interacts with the caller. He doesnt have on many guests. If O'Reilly has on interesting guests, interacts with callers and keeps it faced paced his show will be a success.

[Big Horn]

I could not agree more. O'Riely head to head with Rush is tough .

[demkicker]

"Rush tried TV, he didn't translate well."

Boy, did you get my dander up! You obviously never watched Rush on TV or you wouldn't make such an ignorant comment.

His show was funny as hell, entertaining and dead on when exposing the left with actual clips of their assinine comments. My favorites were the Jocelyn Elders diddys.

I was ignorant to the media's calculating bias and power mongering until Rush Limbaugh came along and exposed these emperors with no clothes.

The fact that leftists media mogules never let Limbaugh's show have a regular prime time slot just proves the fear they have of his voice.

[mickie]

She does have a 'pretty....font'
But if everyone on FR posted like that, can you just imagine what a mess this forum would be in?

[BlueAngel]

I agree with you totally. Rush rules and although I like O'Reilly most of the time, I would never go out of my way to hear him on the radio.

I will even tape Rush, if I can't listen to him when he is on. I hope he never retires!

[wingnuts'nbolts]

O'Reilly is a ranter, he has absolutely no political savvy and he is a very strange mixture on ultra conservatism and flaming liberal rolled into one. His thought processes are not linear or sequential. While he is entertaining I often have to mute the sound just to keep from having to clean up a mess.

Rush, on the other hand, is also entertaining. He thinks sequentially and understands the politics of the nation and our esteemed congress. He is a Republican and is proud of it. His arguments matter because he has done his homework and he is logical above all else. He clearly states the argument and the logical conclusion. One doesn't have to agree with every stance Rush espouses, but his reasoning is clear.

If he talkes about golf and his life once in a while, why shouldn't he. Most people never shut up about themselves. Most of all Rush is an inspiration for the individual attainment of excellence and success in a world where government wants to have that power over all people, and his response to his own health crisis is in itself inspiring.

Methinks that O'Reilly has taken himself much too seriously and that his ego, having attained goliathian proportions, has bitten off more than he can chew. He will attract listeners out of curiosity, but,when his main rants, class disrimination, judging all others by his own view of his own morals and conduct, his anti death penalty conviction, his dubious concern for the "Folks", his almost child like assessment of any given situation, have run thier course and repetition sets in, I don't see a sustainable listening base. His attack dog mode will grind to a crawl as he searches for offenders to "set straight". Triteness and boredom will set in. But in the interests of fair play, I wish him luck. I could be all wet.

[TLBSHOW]

Matt will have a fit that he did not break this , oh wait he did!

Bill is a scrooge for Christmas......