During Bill O’Reilly’s recent sit-down with David Letterman, the Fox News Channel personality worked hard to separate himself from “entertainers” such as Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh, insisting at one point that he is a journalist (before quickly backpedal to say that he’d once been a member of the working media).
But one of the tactics O’Reilly’s show has used with increasing frequency — unleashing pitbullish producer Jesse Watters to harass reluctant interviewees — has come under fire from various quarters. Interestingly in a piece on this very topic airing earlier tonight, one of O’Reilly’s own guests referred to the tactic as “ambushing”, and the host himself declared it a “legitimate brand of journalism [that has been] practiced ever since television news was invented.”
"Attack, Jesse! Good dog!"
Anyone ever remember Walter Cronkite or Edward R. Murrow using these tactics?
Apparently never having seen his own show (and who can blame him), O’Reilly went on to describe the producer in question as being “polite as possible, having a conversation anyone would have” as a series of clips which seemed to validate those points unspooled… but was not shown on The O’Reilly Factor were the endless clips of Watters refusing to leave private property when asked or using much more aggressive tactics. (It’s worth noting that O’Reilly’s show has regularly taken to task the paparazzi of the world for using this exact same tactic in covering celebrities.)
All of which raises the question: Is this, as O’Reilly insists, a long-standing, valid journalistic tactic, or is the producer’s behavior rude, crude and socially unacceptable? Is this what journalism has become, and if so, where is the line drawn when it comes to covering a story?
