# Does anyone take Tucker Carlson seriously? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 23, 2005, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981 "2005-12-23T16:26:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/61 "2005-12-28T19:55:18Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Bill O’Reilly is far from being a conservative, yet he gets attacked by the left more than Limbaugh or Hannity who are basically parrots for the republican party talking points. I think the reason is his popularity, not anything he says or does. O’Reilly is also a man who lies or distorts truth constantly on his program, is a thin skinned narcissist (the phrasing in his suit against Franken was almost psychotic), has a background on TV tabloids and a high profile sexual harassment lawsuit involving things he wanted to do with a falafel. I think this more than his popularity might be why he’s a target. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/62 "2005-12-28T19:58:10Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > What happened? I didn’t see it myself, only read about it second-hand on the boards here. She was pimping _Garfield_ at the time, is all I remember with any certainty. I think he actually insulted the movie, and Hewitt took it somewhat personally. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/63 "2005-12-28T20:01:37Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > a high profile sexual harassment lawsuit involving things he wanted to do with a falafel. A _loofah_ sponge, wasn’t it? Falafel is food. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/64 "2005-12-28T20:11:02Z")
[He meant loofah, he said falafel](http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris16.html). [quote] ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/65 "2005-12-28T20:44:38Z")
> [@Sampiro](#): > > O’Reilly is also a man who lies or distorts truth constantly on his program, is a thin skinned narcissist (the phrasing in his suit against Franken was almost psychotic), Can’t argue with that, especially the “thin skinned narcissist” part. Man, that guy will do 2 weeks worth of programs on a person if that person says somthing negative about him. I’m exagerating, of course, but he bits back fast, and he hits back hard, with a significantly disproportionate response. > [@](#): > > has a background on TV tabloids So, you dont mind a little distortion of the truth, as long as it bolsters your argument? > [@](#): > > [Bill O’Reilly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_O%27Reilly_%28commentator%29) > > O’Reilly’s early television news career included reporting and anchoring positions at WNEP-TV in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he also reported the weather. At WFAA-TV in Dallas, Texas, O’Reilly was awarded the Dallas Press Club Award for excellence in investigative reporting. Then it was off to KMGH-TV in Denver, Colorado where he won an Emmy for his coverage of a skyjacking. O’Reilly also worked in Portland, Oregon, Hartford, Connecticut, and Boston. (Malinowski, November 8, 2004) In 1980, he anchored his own program on WCBS-TV in New York where he won his second Emmy for an investigation of corrupt city marshals. He was promoted to the network as a CBS News correspondent and covered the wars in the Falkland Islands and El Salvador from his base in Buenos Aires, Argentina (1982). In 1986, O’Reilly joined ABC News as a correspondent on ABC World News Tonight. In three years, he appeared on the show over one hundred times, receiving two National Headliner Awards for excellence in reporting. > > In 1989, O’Reilly joined the nationally syndicated Fox Network’s Inside Edition, a current affairs television program. He started as senior correspondent and backup anchor for British journalist David Frost, but soon took over the anchor chair when the viewers found him more appealing. In addition to being one of the first broadcasters to cover the dismantling of the Berlin Wall, O’Reilly also obtained the first exclusive interview with murderer Joel Steinberg and was the first national anchor on the scene of the 1992 Los Angeles riots. > > In 1995, O’Reilly left Inside Edition to enroll at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, where he received a Master’s Degree in Public Administration. Upon leaving Harvard, Roger Ailes, chairman and CEO of the then startup FOX News Channel, hired O’Reilly to anchor The O’Reilly Report, which aired weeknights. The nascent channel’s most popular show was renamed to The O’Reilly Factor when it moved to a later time slot in 1998 since the host was the main “factor” of the show. > [@](#): > > and a high profile sexual harassment lawsuit involving things he wanted to do with a falafel. I think this more than his popularity might be why he’s a target. I don’t exactly how “high profile” it was, but certainly you’re not arguing that O’Reilly wasn’t a “target” of the left long before those charges were brought against him. Charges, btw, which were never substantiated. We do have the woman’s deposition, but that’s just her side of the story. I’ve never seen (or heard) excerpts from the actual tapes in question. If we’re being objective, we have to say that we don’t know what went on between the O’Reilly and “that woman”. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/66 "2005-12-28T20:50:59Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > So, you dont mind a little distortion of the truth, as long as it bolsters your argument? … > > > [@](#): > > > > In 1989, O’Reilly joined the nationally syndicated Fox Network’s Inside Edition, a current affairs television program. _Inside Edition_ is widely considered to be a television tabloid program, in the mold of _A Current Affair_ and _Hard Copy_. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/67 "2005-12-28T21:01:59Z")
> [@acsenray](#): > > _Inside Edition_ is widely considered to be a television tabloid program, in the mold of _A Current Affair_ and _Hard Copy_. So? By claiming his background was “in tabloid TV”, that distorts the truth in exactly the way O’Reilly does-- selecting only those facts that support the cause. No claim was made that O’Reilly “only worked in tabloid TV”, but that’s the impression given. O’Reilly is wrong when he does this, and any poster here is wrong when he or she does it, too. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/68 "2005-12-28T22:44:23Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Charges, btw, which were never substantiated. We do have the woman’s deposition, but that’s just her side of the story. I’ve never seen (or heard) excerpts from the actual tapes in question. If we’re being objective, we have to say that we don’t know what went on between the O’Reilly and “that woman”. We also have to note that he almost immediately paid up, big-time, to settle the case, without ever denying anything she said or even publicly commenting on it. Especially given his penchant for claiming to be the target of smears, expressed quite loudly at that, “if we’re being objective, we have to say that we” do \*too \* know, both beyond a reasonable doubt and beyond the extent any of us really want to know, what happened. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/69 "2005-12-28T22:51:03Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > I’ve never seen (or heard) excerpts from the actual tapes in question. [Have fun.](http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2654742) Not work-safe. Excerpts from transcripts are in the court documents in the Smoking Gun link that was provided to you before your posted claim to objectivity. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Mace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/john_mace/32/185_2.png) [@John\_Mace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Mace)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2005, 11:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/70 "2005-12-28T23:15:38Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > We also have to note that he almost immediately paid up, big-time, to settle the case, without ever denying anything she said or even publicly commenting on it. Especially given his penchant for claiming to be the target of smears, expressed quite loudly at that, “if we’re being objective, we have to say that we” do \*too \* know, both beyond a reasonable doubt and beyond the extent any of us really want to know, what happened. Which means next to nothing. > [@](#): > > Have fun. Not work-safe. > > Excerpts from transcripts are in the court documents in the Smoking Gun link that was provided to you before your posted claim to objectivity. And like I said, this is her side of the story. O’Reilly never gave his side of the story, and we don’t have access the actual tapes, so no, we don’t know much at all other than that allegations were made. The woman was paid off, but it’s certainly possible that that was just the easiest route to take. Perhaps O’Reilly said some or all of what was claimed, but in the context of joking around on the phone. I’m sure many of my phone calls could be recorded, edited, and used as “proof” that I’ve sexaully harrassed someone as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/71 "2005-12-29T00:30:55Z")
POSTED BY John Mace to prove O’Reilly’s background isn’t tabloid] > [@](#): > > [Bill O’Reilly](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_O%27Reilly_%28commentator%29) > > In 1989, O’Reilly joined the nationally syndicated Fox Network’s [Inside Edition](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inside_Edition), a current affairs television program. Follow that link and you get this: > [@Inside Edition](#): > > Inside Edition is an entertainment news program, on the air since 1988. It is similar to the programs [Hard Copy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard_Copy) and [A Current Affair](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Current_Affair_%28US%29). Follow those links and you find > [@](#): > > Hard Copy was a **tabloid** news infotainment magazine show similar to Inside Edition and A Current Affair. and > [@](#): > > A Current Affair is a television magazine that ran from 1986 to 1996 before reappearing in 2005…The show’s landmark coverage of the fall of the Berlin Wall in November 1989 was seen as the harbinger for **“tabloid”** television newsmagazines’ dominance of, and leadership in, coverage of serious news stories. > > The book, **Tabloid Baby** , written by the show’s first managing editor, was said by Povich to be the Bible on the era, and is regarded as the definitive work on the show’s history, as well as the rise and fall of the **tabloid** television genre. And these are **YOUR** links that **YOU** used to impugn **MY** honesty. (From the producer of _Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon_ comes _Freaking Loony, Stupid Schmendrick: the John Mace Story_ in Aromavision.) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/72 "2005-12-29T00:41:20Z")
> [@John Mace](#): > > Which means next to nothing. Your hands are waving so madly, I can feel a breeze all the way over here. :rolleyes: You always do have more than the usual difficulty in recognizing when you’re wrong, don’t you? Now do yourself a huge favor, go back and \*read \* the links you’ve been provided before you say one more word about what is or isn’t in them. Sheesh. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Borgia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/larry_borgia/32/156_2.png) [@Larry\_Borgia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Borgia)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/73 "2005-12-29T01:15:44Z")
Frankly, I never understood why Stewart chose Tucker Carlson to attack for the pernicious phenomenon of cable news shout-fests. TC seems pretty harmless to me, sometimes stupid, but generally good-natured, more or less fair, and occaisionally witty. He seemed like the conservative talker Stewart would most get along with. Certainly he’s not as bad as O’Reilly, Hannity and [sub]Colmes[/sub], or Chris Mathews. ---
**Author:** ![Apos](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/838e76/32.png) [@Apos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Apos)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 4:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/74 "2005-12-29T04:41:30Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > I think the reason is his popularity, not anything he says or does. Then… you are clearly dumber than shit. The reason O’Reily is disliked is because he’s a bombastic raving nutjob. He’s not some polite martyr unfairly impugned for his unpopular views. Have you ever sat down and LISTENED to this guy? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 7:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/75 "2005-12-29T07:19:09Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > The best Daily Show interview of all time wasn’t when Stewart was the host, IMHO. Craig Kilborn was great on that show. He had on Mark Wahlberg (sp?)when he was first breaking out as a movie star. This was shortly after his music career as “Marky Mark”. > > Kilborn refused to call him Mark, or Mark Wahlberg, or Mr. Wahlberg. He called him “Marky”, “Marky Mark”, or “Mr. Mark” the entire time. Mark was pissed, but Kilborn managed to difuse his anger long enough to keep the interview going, then he’d insult him again. It was great. > > I like the Daily Show nowadays, but it’s not nearly as funny as it was back in the days of Kilborn. Well, that segment does sound like it was probably pretty funny. But it will take much more than that to convince me that the show was funnier when Kilborn hosted it. The only place i’ve ever seen Craig Kilborn is on his late-night talk show, where he was about the unfunniest person i’ve ever seen on television. Not only, that, he was, in my opinion, completely untalented and undeserving of having a show of his own, even one that ran after midnight. I literally could not bear to watch the guy. I guess i’ll have to try and track down some of his Daily Show work and see if he lost his talent all of a sudden, or if you and i just have a different idea of what constitutes funny. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 7:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/76 "2005-12-29T07:44:12Z")
I’ve gotta say, the few times I’ve seen Bill O’Reilly I absolutely hated the guy. He came across as someone who makes wild claims and accusations, then shouts down anyone who disagrees with him. I hate people like that. I also find them completely non-entertaining. I prefer wit and humor to bombast, whether I generally agree with the person or not. That’s also why I like Jon Stewart. He’s got tremendous wit, an awesome sense of timing, and is willing to mix the serious with the funny. He shows that you can be passionate about your politics without losing your sense of humor. I like Steven Colbert, too. Those two shows are the best comedy shows on TV. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/77 "2005-12-29T14:21:35Z")
> [@mhendo](#): > > I guess i’ll have to try and track down some of his Daily Show work and see if he lost his talent all of a sudden, or if you and i just have a different idea of what constitutes funny. I haven’t been watching Kilborn on his new Late Show gig, but you’re probably right. The thing is, it’s not really fair to compare the two. Stewart is really funny on the Daily Show, but that might not translate if he were transplanted onto one of the late shows either. Kilborn’s strength on the Daily Show was that he was kind of a combination of what is right now’s Daily Show with Stewart, and the Colbert Report. He was constantly inflating himself for the cameras in a masterful spoof of a typical TV anchorman. ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/78 "2005-12-29T14:26:11Z")
> [@Apos](#): > > Then… you are clearly dumber than shit. :rolleyes: Something like ten times as many people watch O’Reilly than the other shows in it’s timeslot. Are these people all dumber than shit? > [@](#): > > The reason O’Reily is disliked is because he’s a bombastic raving nutjob. This simply isn’t true. He’s on the air one hour a day on TV and three hours a day on the radio. Only a couple times a month some of the most alarming things that he says are taken without context and posted on the numerous left wing sites devoted to attacking him. After years they start to add up. This kind of treatment would make anybody look like a nutjob. One could probably do the same thing with any of us with large posting histories, if one were so inclined. > [@](#): > > Have you ever sat down and LISTENED to this guy? Yes, but it’s clear that you haven’t. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/79 "2005-12-29T15:03:04Z")
> [@Debaser](#): > > Something like ten times as many people watch O’Reilly than the other shows in it’s timeslot. Are these people all dumber than shit? Are you “dumber than shit” or just a liar? Could be both, based on your history.[The top 20 shows in the Nielsen ratings](http://tv.zap2it.com/tveditorial/tve_main/1,1002,272%7C%7C%7Cweekly,00.html) shows O’Reilly dropping to around a 2.0 rating, with NCIS and Cold Case \*each \* around 10.0. You should know by now you can’t post nonsense here and expect not to be called on it. But, hell, it works for O’Reilly - what’s he got that you don’t, besides a “dumber than shit” audience? ---
**Author:** ![Debaser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3da27b/32.png) [@Debaser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Debaser)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2005, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981/80 "2005-12-29T15:09:57Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > Are you “dumber than shit” or just a liar? Could be both, based on your history. Obviously I meant his competition: other cable news shows in his timeslot. I don’t know why I bother to respond to you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-anyone-take-tucker-carlson-seriously/336981.md?page=5)