Bill O'Reilly biography

Synopsis

Bill O'Reilly, born in New York City, started his television career in local news outlets around the country. In his time as a correspondent, he won three Emmy Awards, before moving to Inside Edition, a popular "infotainment" program. When Fox News was created, he was hired to do his own program called, The O'Reilly Factor, which quickly became the most watched cable news program for its conservative commentary and interviews.

Profile

Commentator, columnist, author. Born in Levittown, New York, O'Reilly graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie with a degree in history. He taught high school for two years in Miami, and then returned to school to earn a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

O'Reilly's television news career began in Scranton, Pennsylvania and included local news stops in Dallas, Denver, Portland and Boston. In 1980, he returned to New York to anchor his own program and then to join CBS as a news correspondent. In 1986, he moved to ABC News, where he received two Emmy Awards and two National Headliner Awards for excellence in reporting during his three-year tenure.

O'Reilly's career took a turn in 1989 when he joined the nationally syndicated Inside Edition. For the next five years, Inside Edition was the highest rated "infotainment" program in America. After six years as anchor, O'Reilly left Inside Edition to earn his master's degree in public policy at Harvard University.

Upon leaving Harvard, the startup Fox News Channel hired O'Reilly to do The O'Reilly Factor. With hard-driving interviews, blunt commentary and an oversized ego, O'Reilly deals with the nation's most important issues in an atmosphere referred to as the "No Spin Zone." In 2001, The Factor became the country's most watched cable news program. Shortly thereafter he expanded his media presence to include a weekly syndicated newspaper column and a national radio show called The Radio Factor, which ran from 2002 to 2009.

O'Reilly is also the author of numerous titles, including nonfiction bestsellers like The O'Reilly Factor and The No Spin Zone, as well as novels like Those Who Trespass and controversial presidential thrillers such as Killing Lincoln and Killing Kennedy.