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July 2, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: The hallmark of a person

Abe Novick: Up, up, and aliya

July 1, 2009

Rabbi Avi Shafran: The Road Taken

The Kosher Gourmet by Marialisa Calta: Get into the holiday spirit with these Star-Spangled desserts

June 30, 2009

Rabbi Binyomin Ginsberg: What makes a great parent?

Caroline B. Glick: Ideologue-in-Chief

June 29, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Beware of 'Caveat Emptor'

Steven Emerson: ACLU pushing for more money for Hamas

June 26, 2009

Rabbi Yoni Posnick: Learn the secret to a healthy marriage from a scriptural villain

Caroline B. Glick: Barack Obama vs. International Law

June 25, 2009

Rabbi Shimon Apisdorf: The Absurd Power of Truth

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 24, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: Advancement of technology is a wake-up call for humanity

The Kosher Gourmet by Andrea Weigl: Summer on a stick: Making frozen treats can be easy, creative and fun

June 23, 2009

Martin M. Bodek: 'On Surnames': And so, We Begin

Caroline B. Glick: The Obama Effect

June 22, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Working for a corrupt firm

N. Richard Greenfield : Where are American Jews?

June 19, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Emotion v. intellect

Caroline B. Glick: Israel's rare opportunity

June 18, 2009

Jonathan Rosenblum: Sometimes it is more essential to define the nature of evil than good

Jordan "Gorf" Gorfinkle's strip: Everything's Relative

June 17, 2009

Rabbi Yonason Goldson: The Language of Confusion

The Kosher Gourmet by Linda Gassenheimer: Nothing pleases Dad more than a thick, juicy onion-smothered steak. Add home-Baked Potato Chips and …

June 16, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Career v. Careersism

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's losing streak and Israel

Richard Z. Chesnoff: ‘Palestinians’: Never Missing an Opportunity …

June 15, 2009

Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu: How Judea and Samaria can become 'Palestine'

Daniel Pipes: Where Netanyahu's speech failed

June 12, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: Some big thoughts about not acting so big

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's High Commissioner

June 11, 2009

Victor Davis Hanson: Our historically challenged President

Mitch Albom: Beware the True Believers

Lewis Grossberger: What we learn from the new Hitler photos

June 10, 2009

Mort Zuckerman: What Obama and his advisors won't -- or refuse to -- grasp about Israel and the Muslim world

The Kosher Gourmet by Steve Petusevsky Lotsa pasta: Tips, techniques and (amazing) taste

June 9, 2009

Anne Bayefsky: Obama's stunning offense to Israel and the Jewish people

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: America's first Muslim president?

June 8, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Merchant must take responsibility for careless shopper?

Mark Steyn: A superpower that feeds on mediocrity cannot survive for long on leftovers from the past

Richard Z. Chesnoff: How do you say 'kumbaya' in Arabic?

June 5, 2009

Rabbi Abraham J. Twerski: In quest of spirituality

Caroline B. Glick: Obama's Arabian dreams

Charles Krauthammer: The Settlements Myth

June 4, 2009

Paul Greenberg: The War Comes to Little Rock

The Kosher Gourmet by Judy Hevrdejs: Splash it on! Tap your inner jazz musician and improvise when stirring up a vinaigrette

June 3, 2009

The Jewish Ethicist by Rabbi Dr. Asher Meir: Q. Should terrible teacher be exposed?

Jonathan Rosenblum: The Israel Lobby: Missing in Action

June 2, 2009

Dennis Prager: The Speech President Obama Won't Dare Give in Egypt

Frank J. Gaffney, Jr.: Pressure on Israel raises war risk

Oct. 29, 2003
Mortimer B. Zuckerman: Graffiti On History's Walls (MUST-READ!)

Jewish World Review Oct. 9, 2006 / 17 Tishrei, 5767

Happy Birthday, Fox News

By Bill O'Reilly

Bill O'Reilly
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | This week marks the tenth anniversary of the Fox News Channel (FNC), and because of an early gift by President Clinton, the operation is getting maximum exposure. As you may know, Mr. Clinton became very annoyed when Chris Wallace, the anchor of "Fox News Sunday," pressed him as to why Osama Bin Laden did so much damage on Clinton's watch without being held to account.


The president responded that Mr. Wallace was conducting a "right-wing hit job."


Having lived through the past 10 years anchoring a news analysis program on FNC, I found Mr. Clinton's annoyance amusing. The Bin Laden question is certainly valid, and while Larry King would not have asked it — most other CNN correspondents, I believe, would have. So what's the real beef here?


To understand what's going on we begin with the founder of CNN, Ted Turner, who greeted the arrival of FNC a decade ago with the quote: "We'll squash them like a bug."


That squishing sound you hear is Mr. Turner's prediction ground into pulp. FNC hammers CNN in the ratings all day, every day. That is not making the liberal Turner and his fellow travelers very happy, and that is the heart of this matter.


For decades the left in America was treated with deference by the electronic media. As I chronicle in my book "Culture Warrior," nearly every past and present network anchor and commentator is either a committed liberal or leans left. Just look at what Walter Cronkite and Bill Moyers have done since they left CBS News; both men allied themselves with the far left and are proud of it.


So there was certainly room in America for a network that gave equal time to the conservative point of view and actually hired, God forbid, some right-leaning commentators. To those used to getting information from enterprises like CNN, PBS and NPR, this sudden departure from liberal orthodoxy was shocking and terribly annoying. There was a new kid in town, and his game plan allowed the right to be heard as well.


As Fox News gradually began dominating the cable news landscape, bitterness grew, along with FNC's ratings. The media establishment was aghast; it was being openly challenged and, worst of all, it was losing influence to a bunch of outspoken barbarians. So the attacks intensified.


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Hollywood put out a hit movie about FNC, liberals like Howard Dean openly disparaged the network, and the far left blogs did everything they could to damage those working at the network. It was, and is, very nasty.


But think about it, what is the beef? Even if FNC is a conservative think tank, which it is not, there are five other networks that give enormous benefit of the doubt to the left. So what if one operation leans right? Shouldn't there be room in this country for one newsroom that doesn't think like Ted Turner?


Last week on my program, I challenged Democrat strategists James Carville and Paul Begala to give me one example of an unfair presentation on FNC. They could not cite one. Certainly, Chris Wallace's questioning was professional. The liberal Alan Colmes balances the conservative Sean Hannity, and the rest of the FNC cast is evenly split between the right and the left. The guest list is the same way.


That's why FNC is so lively and, yes, so loud. We embrace robust debate and want to hear all sides. We challenge the powerful and do it with panache and a sense of humor. Like us or not, Fox News has changed the entire broadcast news business and provides a trusted service to far more Americans than every other cable news channel.


Sounds like a great recipe for success and I, for one, am glad President Clinton could be a part of it. As with all our guests, Mr. Clinton had his say, was challenged, and is free to think whatever he wants.


He doesn't even have to be nice to us on our birthday.

Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in in the media and Washington consider "must-reading". Sign up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.

JWR contributor Bill O'Reilly is host of the Fox News show, "The O'Reilly Factor," and author of, most recently, "Who's Looking Out for You?" Comments by clicking here.


Bill O'Reilly Archives

© 2006, Creators Syndicate

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