Bill O’Reilly’s No Spin News and Analysis - O'Reilly: The Early Years

Episode Date: April 8, 2024

Watch as Bill discusses his early career in Boston and New York with his former bosses Phil Balboni and Steve Cohen. Catch some classic O'Reilly clips from the 1980s as he develops his No Spin persona. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So you may know that we have a foreign news partner. I mentioned it before. It's the daily chatter.com. And we work with daily chatter because we don't have our own foreign correspondence and they do to accumulate information all over the world. And if you go to dailychatter.com every day, there's a very readable, I dispatch, and you'll learn a lot. I do.

I get it every morning. Okay. The guy who runs it is named Phil Balboni, and I used to work for Mr. Balboni. He has a local reporter slash analyst in Boston at WCBBTV, a classic television station. This News Center 5 update is brought to you by Stop and Shop Supermarkets. It's time to stop and shop. Good evening. I'm Chet Curtis. I'm Bill O'Reilly.

Nobody heard the thousands of commuters in Tokyo frightened today when small bombs exploded in several of the city subway stations. We'll have more at 11. And how some news organizations treated the nuclear accident at Chernobyl is on Bill's mind tonight? Yeah, my column tonight, Chad. We're going to talk about how the Soviets are making an excuse for giving no information. That excuse may have been provided for them, now this. You managed me for a little while in the 1980s. That must have been hell.

It wasn't, actually. I mean, I want your viewers to know that you were a damn good reporter. And, you know, you were a pleasure to work with. I mean, you're the same guy you were 40 years ago. you know, very confident, smart, sometimes a little opinionated. Maybe you rub some of your colleagues the wrong way from time to time. But no, you were great, and that's why we've been friends, 40 years. But when I was working for you in Boston, and Boston is my second home, as you know.

I mean, when I go to Boston, everybody thinks I'm from Southie. I was different than most of the other reporters. because I was so brash, B-R-A-S-H. And I remember that. But we let you do something we'd never let anybody else do before, which was to do commentary on the 11 o'clock news. That was the first. Good evening. I'm Bill O'Reilly, and tonight on News Center 5 and 11,

my column will deal with the story behind the story of the Shriver-Schwarzenegger wedding. It was quite a show and thousands turned out to see it. I'll give you my impressions at 11. Hope to see you then. You know, and that was interesting because the ratings went up because I was monitoring them. And the reason that you and Coppersmith, the general manager, put me on, was that, and this is fascinating, after the weather in Boston, everybody turned off and go to sleep. But then you put this madman O'Reilly on at the end of the show, hoping that people would stay up, which they did. Which they did.

The funny thing about it was that the reigning queen of news, in Boston, Natalie Jacobson, huge, huge anchor up there. She hated me. She was just look at me like, what is this? I think you threatened her a little bit. This is a news center five update. Good evening. I'm Natalie Jacobson. And I'm Bill O'Reilly. A tired but happy President Reagan tonight held a news conference in Tokyo to tell Americans this was the most successful of the six economic summits he has attended. We'll give you the highlights on News Center 5 tonight. Bill O'Reilly, what's in your mind tonight?

Well, there's a birthday boy today, Natalie. Willie Mays, I know he's one of your favorite people. Absolutely. 55 years old makes me feel a lot older. Now this. Well, I thread everybody. But you stuck up to her. I mean, you said, we're doing it for the good of the whole newscast here, Natalie.

And I admired that very much because I knew. She wouldn't even introduce me. She wouldn't even read the lead. Her husband, Jed Curtis, who was the co-anchor, had to do it. Right. So anyway. We had an amazing team. I mean, I'm sure many of your viewers remember the 1980s in television news.

It really was the golden age. That was the apex. Absolutely. We had standards. You sent reporters all over the world. I remember Martha Radditz, who's now on ABC. She sent her to the Philippines. when they had the big uproar there.

I mean, it was really, it was really, number one, a pleasure of work with you, which is why we've stayed in touch all these years. And number two, it had a tremendous impact, Channel 5 in Boston, on the whole New England area. That's gone. And I'm not quite sure why it disappeared. Last word, do you know why?

Because the viewers aren't there anymore. I mean, you know, people have migrated off to, you know, 100 or a thousand or a million different places. You know, that 11 o'clock news that people watched you on in the 1980s, I bet the audience is maybe 25% of what it used to be. Of what it was. Yeah, they're all scattered. Yeah. All right, Phil Dobony, it's daily chatter, one word.com. Can't get much easier than that. If you're interested in foreign news, and it's straight. It's straight. Okay. Nonpartisan. Yeah. I want everybody. ready to go and check it out. Thanks, Phil. Good to see you, man. Pay care.

Great to see you, Bill. Be good. Okay. Let's face it, the U.S. economy is under stress. National debt rising, trade war, shaking the markets. And meanwhile, China is dumping the dollar and stockpiling gold. That's why I protected my savings with physical gold and silver through the only dealer I trust, American Hartford gold. And you can do this. Get precious metals delivered to your door or place in a tax advantage, gold IRA. They'll even help you roll over your existing IRA or 401K, tax and penalty free. With billions in precious metals delivered thousands of five-star reviews and an A-plus from the Better Business Bureau, you can trust American Hartford Gold as I do.

Please call 866-326, 5576, or text Bill, to 998899. Again, that's 866-326-5576-5576 or text bill to 998899. Power, politics, and the people behind the headlines. I'm Miranda Devine, New York Post columnist, and the host of the brand new podcast, Podforce One. Every week, I'll sit down for candid conversations with Washington's most. powerful disruptors, lawmakers, lawmakers, and even the president of the United States. These are the leaders shaping the future of America and the world.

Listen to Podforce One with me, Miranda Devine, every week on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. You don't want to miss an episode. Okay, let's go to the media. Two studies last year on local media. is what you get the weather, you get the local sports guy, the anchors, and they talk about whatever is happening in your town. It's totally divorced from the national news. It is very, very little cross-pollination. I worked local for a while, okay, and then I went to national. And ABC News Business Brief, now from New York, Bill O'Reilly.

Good evening. President Reagan and Venice surprised financial experts to today when he said there could be some lowering of the dollar. The dollar fell briefly but rebounded when White House aide said there's no change in U.S. policy supporting a stable dollar. Also, the Fed reports the nation's money supply fell in late May. Retail sales were down last month raising concern about a possible recession, but the conference board says consumer confidence was up in May and more Americans expect a brighter future. Procter and Gamble today announced an $800 million restructuring plan. P&G will charge it against fourth quarter earnings. Brazil has asked the IMF for a delay in interest payments, something the IMF has never

allowed. And Ben and Jerry's homemade, the Vermont ice cream company may open a store in Moscow. On New York financial markets, the Dow gained over six points. Interest on T-bills rose, gold was up $7, and the dollar was down. That is business brief. I'm Bill O'Reilly. And so I know the difference between the two. The national news, the three newscasts, ABC, NBC, CBS, They average less than 20 million people, all three of them, okay, a night. Down about 16, 17 million. Local news still in some cities does okay, but it's falling too. Hey, I'm Caitlin Becker, the host of the New York Postcast,

and I've got exactly what you need to start your weekdays. Every morning I'll bring you the stories that matter, plus the news people actually talk about, the juicy details in the worlds of politics, business, pop culture, and everything in between. It's what you want from the New York. Post wrapped up in one snappy show. Ask your smart speaker to play the NY Postcast podcast.

Listen and subscribe on Amazon Music, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Hey, it's Sean Spicer from the Sean Spicer Show podcast, reminding you to tune into my show every day to get your daily dose inside the world of politics. President Trump and his team are shaking up Washington like never before, and we're here to cover it from all sides, especially on the topics. the mainstream media won't. So if you're a political junkie on a late lunch or getting ready for the drive home, new episodes of the Sean Spicer Show podcast drop at 2 p.m. East Coast every day.

Make sure you tune in. You can find us at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcast. So the study, one was by NORC. It asked, do you trust your local news? 41% say yes, 307, 37% don't know, and 22% don't. All right, then we had a maggot poll. This was both last year. Trust local news, 54 yes, 39 so-so, no trust 6.

I do not believe that poll. And here's why. Magid, who took the poll, they service local news. they sell them anchors. So this is a fix-as-in poll here. I'm just telling you what the media is all about. Now, I, as I said, worked local news for, I don't know, let's see, seven years before I went national. And the two best stations I was at was WCVB in Boston, and we talked to Phil Balbonny, and now is our foreign news partner last week, and WCBS TV, only and operated by CBS in New York City.

And my news director there was a man named Steve Cohen, who joins us now from San Diego. And I got your book. All right? Thank you. I got your book. 50 years in a newsroom. And you look it, by the way, a eulogy.

A eulogy. Is it, is it, is local news dead? Is it over? No, it's not dead, but the books about the newsrooms that you and I grew up in and you and I knew, and those newsrooms were not mainstream newsrooms, you know, there was no mainstream. We created what news was to be, you and me and John Tesh and a whole bunch of people that are now a generation of television news. And the reason that local news, I think, today needs a eulogy is, let's remember what we were, and perhaps we could get back to it. That's the problem.

You know, the reason those numbers that you just read are so low is because you go from station to station. There's usually seven stations that do news now in a market. They do about six to seven hours a day, seven days a week. Is there all the same? Mainstream media has taken over, right? But it's all about money. now for them. It's not about winning, you know, when I was working for you at Channel 2, the Big Cahunas were Channel 4 in New York, WNBC, and W.A.B.C. Channel 7. It was a fierce brawl

to beat them in the ratings, because you got overnight ratings every night, and we really were, you know, pushing it to be better than they were, more aggressive, better stories, all of that doesn't count anymore. All they want to do is make money. So if you're number three or number four, and I think that's why the quality is dropped. I think some of it's about income for sure, and it's because the guys that own these big organizations, there's only like three or four. You know, you got Tegness and Claire, Next Star, Byron Allen's in the game now. They all have the same zeitgeist. They all believe the same things. And therefore, the kind of journalism we did, and when we competed in New York,

It was dog-eat-dog to get the best story. We didn't believe in official sources. We didn't trust anybody. We were skeptical of everything, including ourselves. We had wars in the newsroom over ideas and what we should cover. The newsrooms today are quiet places, Bill. They're a place of whispers. And people using their thumbs instead of their intellect,

if there is, in fact, any intellect extent in the newsrooms of America today. That's why they're scared. They don't want to get fired to say it. Now, at WCBS, when I was there with you, there wasn't any ideology, okay? You didn't bring that at all. It was get the story and get it right. And God help you, if you don't get it right, you know, the anchorman, Jim Jensen will lay you out. This is Channel 2 News at 6 with Jim Jensen, Rallin Smith,

Warner Wolf on Sports, and Dr. Frank Field with the weather. Good evening. Okay, and I never even do, not one time did I think about ideology when I was working in Channel 2. But there was an incident, and I'm sure you'll remember, where I asked Governor Hugh Carey, a Democrat, a very tough question, about his poll numbers being driven down by his wife. I remember. And I got marched in to the General Madden's office with you.

And I looked at him and he goes, and he got a call from Bill Paley, the guy who ran CBS, saying, get this punk O'Reilly under control. Do you remember that? I do. I remember it very well. And, you know, I was very fortunate to have some history with William Paley, the chairman, who sort of took a liking to me and got to know me. But I remember that meeting, and I remember both of us sort of being quiet, but we didn't back down, as my memory, that we did not back down, that both of us stood shoulder to shoulder and said, look, this is legitimate.

And we were back, and as far as I remember, the GM backed us, did he not? You know, his heart wasn't in it. It was a guy named Ed Joyce, who got promoted to CBS, Dan Rather, national news, and hired me. to go there. But that was a snake pit. That was ideology. I was so different than local. Is a question Congress will have to consider? Bill O'Reilly, CBS News, Miami. So I bet my audience would like to know what a pain in the neck I was to manage way back then. I was ridiculous, right? Well, I think, yeah, you are. But the truth is that it's the other difference between newsrooms is that

you have to be firm, but you have to embrace people that are who they are. And what you brought to the newsroom was, one, you had a sense of humor, right? So no matter how tough you were, you had a sense of humor. And second, you had a philosophy about what should be covered and what shouldn't. As ABC's Bill O'Reilly reports, if the price sticks here, higher prices may be coming to a theater near you. In a move that has angered many New Yorkers, 44 movie theaters have raised. raise ticket prices from $6 to $7. Well, that makes you hard to manage.

Guess what? Tough. If you're in charge of a newsroom, you want people who are unique. You want people who are one of a kind. You demand people to be unique and different. We had folks like Vic Miles and, you know, that were so unique and different. Yeah, best staff ever. Warner, Warner Wolf and Sports who invented modern, modern sports. casting. All right, Ernie, at the Garden game one, the National Hockey League All-Stars beat the Russians

four to two. Gilles and Bossie scored for the National Hockey League Dryden had 18 saves. Now, if you really want to make this series meaningful, have the Russians agree that for every goal scored against them in this series, they will release at least one family now being held in the Soviet Union against their will. All right, let's go to the videotape. You know, Tesh was on, was leaving to seek his dreams and entertainment. Everyone had something else that was compelling and they were passionate about it. And even the anchors who were, as you grew up to be, even more obtuse and even more crazy, right? But you know what?

You had to find your voice, Bill. You had to find your voice. And all I tried to do, and in my 50 years as a news director, try to do is let people find. their voice because we need the multiplicity of us yeah i say that you were the best the book is 50 years a newsroom a eulogy uh you want to know about local news steve cohen is the man and good to see you steve stay well thank you bill i can't thank you enough for what you did for my career i really appreciate that and you and you embracing our friendship has meant so much take care my friend