2003 Year in Review

O'Reilly Reality: The Huckster Factor - II

A huckster is “one who uses aggressive, showy, and sometimes devious methods to promote or sell a product.” Bill O’Reilly is a huckster, preying on the broad spectrum of the middle class whom he pledges to advocate.

Bear in mind that O’Reilly is not a poor man, nor did he come from the poorer classes. His father was a professional, earned a good upper middle income, and could afford to send his son to private Catholic schools and to college. When, on occasion, a guest presses him on air to state his earnings, he tilts his head to the side, smiles, and responds, “I’m doin’ pretty good.”

Indeed he is. According to the Boston Globe, O’Reilly’s yearly income from Fox News, his radio show, his books, merchandise, and public appearances ranges between 7 and 10 million dollars.

In an interview posted on ABCNews.com, November 9, 2001, O’Reilly was asked why he was “so angry.” O’Reilly replied, "That the people who make this country work, the millions who get up at 6 o'clock in the morning, get home at 6 at night … They don't have a lot of power … And the people that they give power to represent them, more often than not sell them out." He calls this "un-American" and "corrupt."

It appears that O’Reilly doesn’t mind taking those who “don’t have a lot of power” for every nickel, dime, and quarter he can. He isn’t necessarily selling out the “millions who get up at 6 o’clock in the morning” as he is selling himself to the millions who watch his Factor program. At the end of his telecast, O’Reilly pushes his Fox News gear to his audience, acknowledging with a twinkle in his eye that it may be overpriced, but his portion of the Fox take goes to charitable causes – what charitable causes he has yet to explain.

O’Reilly now has another outlet for his charming “good-ol’-boy” routine. After an acrimonious and well-publicized break with WorldNetDaily.com (a web site for conservative thought of all stripes. WND was O’Reilly’s main venue on the web), O’Reilly set up his own site at www.billorielly.com to capitalize on his growing popularity as a singular celebrity. At WND, he was merely another conservative among many other conservatives. It is here at his site we can see the true capitalistic fervor of O’Reilly at work, tweaking the tried and true and the unwary for big money – that is, big money to the hard-working, middle-class, blue-collar patrons that may venture there.

What greets us - the O’Reilly fanatics and casual surfers alike when we first click to the site? The motif is red, white, and blue – no doubt to honor our flag and country, not to draw on the patriotic sensibilities of visitors. But the patriotic gore is tempered by the omnipresent quest for our hard-earned cash.: “Welcome to Bill’s Home on the Web” followed immediately by “Store Home” – “My Account” – “My Cart” – “My Order” – “Help”. And in case visitors aren’t aware of O’Reilly's celebrity status:

Bill O'Reilly. America's #1 cable TV news commentator, leading radio personality and best-selling author.

Site-seers are given a few tidbits to whet their appetites. A “Contact Center” provides access to information to support O’Reilly’s campaigns against gangsta rap, Pepsi, France and Germany. Another section offers perspectives of O’Reilly from various publications, usually of the fluff kind hyping his personality or his big Fox News ratings. This is followed by “Bill’s Latest Column,” a rehash of one of his “Talking Points Memo.”

These “freebies” lead into

“New Exclusive Webcast!

Bill's new Exclusive Webcast has just been posted with O'Reilly tackling questions about things like Gulf War Syndrome, US Foreign Policy, Watergate and just what is he scribbling down on that pad at the end of every show? Thanks to Premium Members like Lynn Taylor, Sarah Brett-Meier, Paul Forbes and Darryl Abell for sending in their questions.

View the latest webcast HERE

If you want to get in on the action - be sure to post your comments on the Feedback Zone or email your question in the Ask Bill section.

Send in your questions and comments and make your voice heard!"

When we click one of the hyperlinks, we are whisked to the “Premium Membership Benefits” page. We can’t access these areas unless we have purchased either a $4.95 monthly or $49.95 yearly membership in the billoreilly.com club. Notice that there is no “standard” or “continuing” or “support group” memberships at lower rates to help us struggling nine-to-fivers who may find the exclusive club membership a bit pricey. No, if we want to be Bill’s friend, it’s gonna cost us. As Bill would say, more on this later.

On the home page, two areas are defined along the left - a “Public Area” and a “Member Area.” The public section offers little of consequence: Home, Welcome letter, Radio Show Times, TV Show Times, All About Bill [just a little about Bill, really], Contact Center, Bill’s Photos [a few to entice], Audience Letters [“Thanks so much for providing us a place to express our opinions and have the chance to speak out. Your price is right, and the entire idea is, yet again, something unique unto you Bill. Thanks for giving us a small platform. Tuck A. -- Wilmington, DE”], Membership Signup, and Store.

Basically, what we get in the public area is O’Reilly pomp and a constant pitch to become a member of the club – at a hefty premium. At no time, however, are we discouraged from purchasing any O’Reilly merchandise. The store is open to all, members and non-members alike. Tuck A. from Wilmington, DE, may thank Bill “for giving us” a place to vent, but notice the “price is right.”

In “O’Reilly Realty: The Huckster Factor – III – we'll take a look at other aspects of the web site, including a look a marketing tactics, and see how it all adds up to more money for Bill at the expense of the very people he professes to represent and defend.

by William Driver, Guest Columnist
February 20, 2003