Bill O’Reilly’s producers need a support group
I feel sorry for Bill O’Reilly’s producers. When he’s not verbally abusing them, he’s sending them off to do “ambush journalism.” Whether it’s confronting the interview subjects outside their apartment complexes or at conferences, the producer engaging in said ambushing usually comes off looking like a fool no matter how much the video has been edited. Watch the embedded youtube video below to see one of O’Reilly’s producers go after Bill Moyers:
This was interesting, but Moyers was just playing with him. I don’t watch much O’Reilly (but I do watch Moyers every Friday), and I must say that the format of both shows is not that different (Interview with talking heads, etc). Would you call Moyers a reporter or an anchor? O’Reilly deserves all the scorn we heap on him, but it’s hard to find enough material to fill up a daily show. If Oreilly just had to do 30 minutes or 60 minutes a week, I bet he could produce an edgier meatier show.
Ambush journalism, like access journalism, is easy to produce (and can be edited to show just the juicy stuff). To the editor belongs the power.
I agree, I’d call Moyers an anchor, and I don’t really watch him. What I’m mainly objecting to is his silly ambush journalism quests he sends his producers on.