Children?

xfdfx THE-O'REILLY-FACTOR-05

<Show: THE O'REILLY FACTOR>

<Date: June 22, 2009>

<Time: 20:37>

<Tran: 062205cb.256>

<Type: Show>

<Head: Does Factor Overuse Provocative Pics?; Is Reality TV Show Exploiting Children?>

<Sect: News; Domestic>

<Byline: Bill O'Reilly, Gretchen Carlson, Margaret Hoover>

<Spec: Computers; Children; Television &amp; Radio; Families; Children>

O'REILLY: Thanks for staying with us. I'm Bill O'Reilly.In the Culture Warrior segment tonight, two provocative topics. As you may know, we are one of the few programs on cable news that deals with cultural issues in America.

On the Internet especially there are all kinds of things that negatively impact children and even promote criminal activity. You remember Boston University student allegedly murdering a sex worker after getting her information from Craigslist. Twenty-three-year-old Philip Markoff has now been indicted. He pled not guilty today in Boston.

As part of our coverage, we sometimes show you provocative pictures like the ones on Craigslist. We cover them up, and we issue viewer warnings, but some people have criticized us for that exposition. With us now to comment, our culture warriors Gretchen Carlson and Margaret Hoover.

Now Hoover, the criticism comes from two camps, primarily: our enemies, which will criticize anything we do, out of jealousy, primarily. But, and then traditional conservative people who say, Well, why are you doing this?

And I always say to them, my job to report on what's happening in America, and some people don't know what's going on on in the Net. So where am I going wrong?

MARGARET HOOVER, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You're not entirely going wrong, showing maybe all 38 seconds as opposed to, like, 10 or 15 might get the point across.

O'REILLY: But we cover it up.

HOOVER: I appreciate that you cover it up. You still give a pretty great collage of what's going on on the Internet.

Here's the thing: the way do you it, I appreciate where you're coming from. Because you actually are doing a parental warning. Actually, you are a real culture warrior. You are actually out there to watch out for the folks to help the families.

But, what it does at the same time is it allows some folks who are at home to feel morally outraged and, also, feel a little bit titillated at the same time.

O'REILLY: But I'm trying to do my job. I'm trying to do my job as effectively as possible. The outrage builds if people actually know what's on the Internet, because they don't go to see it themselves. All right? If I don't show the pictures, I'm talking radio here.

MARGARET CARLSON, CO-HOST, FOX FRIENDS : Exactly. This is why we don't do the show on FOX Friends in the morning, because this would not be allowable in the morning. Because we have kids watching. And therefore, if we can't show the video, then we don't do the story.

O'REILLY: But you know, you could give a viewer warning for the kids.

CARLSON: We would never do the story in the morning time.

O'REILLY: All right. The morning wouldn't do this.

CARLSON: You do a warning, though.

O'REILLY: Always do that.

CARLSON: However, I do believe that, for young children, it still is not a good idea. My kids watch The Factor from time to time. I would not want them seeing that.

O'REILLY: I can't cover the news because of young children.

CARLSON: I know. I do think it's important to do these stories, though. That's the flip side of this. I'm torn on this.

O'REILLY: You've got -- but you've got to make a decision.

HOOVER: No, you don't. You don't have to show 38 seconds collage.

O'REILLY: All right. So what, 15 seconds then?

HOOVER: Ten to 15 and a lot of Amanda Carpenter, because she's beautiful and she has great analysis.

CARLSON: Here's why it's important to show some of the video, is because parents need to know what's out there on the Internet.

O'REILLY: Absolutely.

CARLSON: That's endangering the lives of their children. So I agree that you need to do the story.

O'REILLY: I've never been big on censorship. I've always been big on individual responsibility for watching the program. The folks who watch the Factor know what we do and why we do it. We warn them: here it comes. And everybody's got the clicker.

And then we digitalize. All right? You don't see -- you know, at one time on The Factor, we -- there was a pole -- a pole stripper thing with the pole. The pole?

HOOVER: Um-huh.

O'REILLY: I said no more poles. We don't need that, OK? Poles are gone.

HOOVER: Poles are a little too much. Poles are over the line?

O'REILLY: Poles or anybody wrapped around them, you ain't going to see them anymore here.

HOOVER: None of that.

O'REILLY: But for a story about Craigslist and a murderer. How many people go to Craigslist looking for sex workers? Very few. They don't know what's available. They don't know the danger of it.

So, look, I'm going to take it under advisement that you ladies think I should cut it down a little bit. But I'm not going to do away with it. When I say to you guys viewer warning, if you don't want to watch it, don't. You know, come back and...

HOOVER: To your credit, when you do this, you do have a positive impact on culture.

O'REILLY: Yes, we do.

HOOVER: One of the examples Octomom. You were way out ahead of Octomom. And I think that is one of the reasons that she's not able to get a reality show in this country.

O'REILLY: Well, I hope so, because we don't do it for a gratuitous reason. We do it for -- to warn people what is taking over. Look, the Internet is taking over, ladies. It's taking over.

HOOVER: It's way ahead of the laws.

CARLSON: You bet. And being a kid now is harder than it's ever been in the history of civilization.

HOOVER: Agreed.

O'REILLY: Now -- and this is part of this stuff. I think this is more obscene that I'm going to show you right now. You don't need a viewer warning on this. But I think this is more obscene than any picture than we've ever showed here on The Factor. Roll the tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE GOSSELIN, REALITY TV STAR: Recently, we've made some life-changing decisions, decisions that will affect every member of our family. Ones that we hope will bring each of us some peace.

We haven't really known where we were going, but we've been dealing with this for a long time.

JON GOSSELIN, REALITY TV STAR: It just got worse and worse and worse, with all the tabloids and all of that it made it worse.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'REILLY: Yes, and it's your fault, you clown. Look, they're exploiting their marital problems for money. The TLC network is exploiting this might be a divorce, maybe it won't be. I don't care. I don't care.

HOOVER: Yes.

O'REILLY: But millions of Americans do. But, you've got eight children here.

HOOVER: No kidding.

O'REILLY: Stigmatized for the rest of their lives by these people's foolishness and a network's greed. Am I wrong here, Carlson?

CARLSON: You're actually not wrong. I feel exactly the same way with you on this. These are eight children's lives are memorialized now on national television. They're divorcing parents.

O'REILLY: Well, we don't even know what they're going to do.

CARLSON: Here's what I hope the big announcement is, that, if they're getting divorced...

O'REILLY: They're canceled.

CARLSON: No. That they are deciding as responsible parents to not do this show anymore, because they are going to finally look out for the betterment of their children.

O'REILLY: What are the odds of that happening, Hoover?

HOOVER: Zero.

O'REILLY: That's right.

HOOVER: Big fat zero.

O'REILLY: They want the money. That guy, he was shopping for apartments, so they say in the papers today, at the Trump Tower.

HOOVER: That's $75,000 an episode is really...

O'REILLY: This is what this is all about. This is why this is obscene. OK? This is the worst of America. Selling your kids, because the kids are part of the show, for money. For money.

HOOVER: It is also a phenomenon of the last decade. Reality TV started in August of 2000.

O'REILLY: I don't care about them eating bugs in the jungle. Let them eat all the bugs they want. All right? There are eight kids here, watching their parents destroy each other.

HOOVER: What is it about our culture that we have become so desensitized?

O'REILLY: Greed. Greed.

HOOVER: The people who are watching aren't greedy.

O'REILLY: NO, that's voyeurism.

HOOVER: They are watching it because they want to know what happens. They want to watch the train wreck.

CARLSON: But what child star has ever grown up -- very few have grown up to lead normal lives, what we characterize as normal. These eight kids, you're setting them up for that same disaster. And my heart goes out to those children.

O'REILLY: You know, Glenn Beck was one of The Little Rascals. Wasn't he? Wasn't he? Wasn't Beck one of The Little Rascals ? He looks like one.

CARLSON: Excuse me. Your phone is ringing.

O'REILLY: All right, ladies. The Culture Warriors.

Reality Check. In the truth zone this evening, Meghan McCain and President Obama mocking some press people other than FOX personnel. Wow. Can't wait to hear that. Check moments away as the Factor continues all across the USA and all around the world.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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