Sideshow: Bill O'Reilly fights back at allegations
Bill O'Reilly, accused of telling fibs about his experiences while covering the Falklands War for CBS, must believe that he's the victim of a liberal conspiracy. Why else would the Fox News Channel pundit lash out against mounting evidence that he mischaracterized a postwar protest in Buenos Aires by Argentinians angry that their nation lost the war to Britain.
Bill O'Reilly under fire
Bill O'Reilly, accused of telling fibs about his experiences while covering the Falklands War for CBS, must believe that he's the victim of a liberal conspiracy. Why else would the Fox News Channel pundit lash out against mounting evidence that he mischaracterized a postwar protest in Buenos Aires by Argentinians angry that their nation lost the war to Britain.
Reilly, who hosts the highest-rated show in cable news, writes in his book No Spin Zone that the demo devolved into a riot in which "many were killed." And he claims he witnessed Argentine soldiers "shooting people dead." O'Reilly's story has been contradicted by his former colleagues and a slew of journos who were there. They say there was no shooting that day and no one was killed.
CBS on Monday released footage of the protest. It does not support O'Reilly's claims.
Mother Jones magazine also has disputed a story O'Reilly told on his show in 2013 about how he helped a CBS photog injured in the melee. "I dragged him off," he said.
CNN interviewed seven CBS staffers who were in Argentina with O'Reilly. They said the incident never took place.
Unlike Brian Williams, who has apologized for his account of events during the Iraq War, O'Reilly has made no admissions or apologies.
He's come out fighting. Late Monday, New York Times reporter Emily Steel received a threat from O'Reilly after she posted links to an article about the controversy. She tweeted that O'Reilly told her "I am coming after you with everything I have" and "You can take it as a threat."
Media pundits have observed that the charges against O'Reilly may not stick even if true. The conservative commentator enjoys such authority with his fans, they say, that they simply will refuse to believe the criticism.
Who's Brian Williams?
TV critics expected a cacophonic concatenation of calamity and catastrophe to befall NBC once embattled anchor Brian Williams was benched. Surely, viewers would turn away in droves? Not so!
NBC's Nightly News is doing just fine with Lester Holt in the pilot's seat, averaging a first-place 10.1 mil viewers last week, USA Today reports.
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