Block vs. O'Reilly

Television Week editor Alex Ben Block accepted an invitation into the Fox News lair of Bill O'Reilly and lived to tell about it.

It was an irresistible invitation to go a few rounds with the undisputed heavyweight champion of American news talk. To face all of my fears and push aside my natural paranoia, to take the risk that I might end up O'Reilly roadkill. His was an electronic bully pulpit that he used to praise the chosen and punish fools who dared to disagree...This was Mr. Bill the killer interviewer, the most dangerous man with a microphone currently prowling prime time.

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I kept wondering whether I was somehow being ambushed. About a week earlier, I had written a column about the unusually aggressive methods employed by Fox News Channel public relations personnel, including the selective blacklisting of journalists they don't like...Then the truth came out...My job was to be the straw horse for all the ills of the media.

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My appearance turned out to be the quickest seven minutes of my life. By the time I was in the chair being wired with earpiece and mike, I was aware the whole setup was an opportunity for Mr. Bill to rage against the media machine that spit out those stories he didn't like. They weren't present, so he vented in my direction. I wasn't having any of it. I wasn't from Daytona or Miami. I would stand by every word in TV Week...

The TV Week website has a new design since the last time I looked, and a free but lengthy registration barrier.