To the surprise of many, Bill O'Reilly finally got kicked out of Fox News last Wednesday (April 19,) and The O'Reilly Factor is now a thing of the past.
Whether the actual reason was for his allegations or because of advertisers pulling out, I'm happy for the decision the network made to send him on his way.
Based on the way he carried himself, he never seemed like a good host anyway. As I look back, the conversations he had with all kinds of people were mediocre at best. How he treated most of them was dull, mean-spirited, and unprofessional as ever. When it comes to etiquette and manners on-air personalities, NPR can teach O'Reilly and everyone else working in television a thing or two, and I don't even like NPR.
It doesn't matter if Bill and I may agree on some issues- as Dr. Everett Piper would put it, Bill O'Reilly is "not on my side." I simply don't care if the man and I agree.
However, when I first heard of his departure, I suddenly became concerned with how he's been personally and with the Fox News Channel itself.
Right now, Bill seems to be taking his departure pretty well according to the statement he made.
I'm willing to bet, though, that he really isn't taking it as okay as he claims. He had been a host on the network for quite some time, and I can't pass off his statement as him being "okay." That is why I'm concerned for him. Despite my happiness that The O'Reilly Factor is no more, I do hope that Bill O'Reilly can find love, hope, peace, mercy, and grace in Jesus Christ. However, I'm not going to sit here, bask in selfishness, and say I'm any better; I'm not. As a human race, as a people in this world, we're all sinners just like Bill. I've heard about O'Reilly's faith, but I hope he truly turns to Christ in this time of his life.
For Fox News itself, I've been wondering if the network has been trying to either reestablish itself as a conservative-biased news outlet or start over from scratch since Megyn Kelly and Greta Van Susteren left for NBC. Now that O'Reilly is gone, I wonder more about the latter.
The way I see it, for Fox News to continue however it chooses, one thing is clear: have a better standard for their shows. Of course, for as long as American media has existed there has always been forms of bias. I'm not arguing so much against bias as I am about the quality of the work that any network puts forth. That means no more having an O'Reilly-type person on your network whatsoever. When I do turn on Fox News for whatever reason, 90% of the time I'm just watching people bickering and arguing. Fox and these other networks should have a strict and set-in-stone standard for their hosts and guests. If such a standard becomes well-implemented, then as a conservative Christian I'll watch more of the news channels on TV than I do now.
Mature examples of a free marketplace of ideas can happen, only if networks and people agree to talk and listen.
