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O’Reilly Ignores Van Susteren Interview With Gloria Cain, Promoting Diane Sawyer’s Giffords Chat Instead

» 43 comments

Tonight at 10 p.m. on ABC, Diane Sawyer will interview Gabrielle Giffords, the Arizona congresswoman who was shot in the head at close range in January, and has made an amazing recovery over the last 10 months. Two hours before the interview is set to air, Sawyer will be a guest on Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor. Normally, this wouldn’t be big news: Bill O’Reilly — love him or hate him — has one of the most-watched shows on television, and he regularly finishes on top of the cable news ratings on a nightly basis. So anyone wanting any kind of promotion for their show would be smart to pay O’Reilly a visit. But airing at 10 p.m. on Monday night, opposite Sawyer, on O’Reilly’s own channel, is a Greta Van Susteren interview with Herman Cain‘s enigmatic wife, Gloria. As of this afternoon, there was no word of Van Susteren appearing on The Factor for a promo of her show. In fact, Van Susteren hasn’t appeared on O’Reilly’s show since — and this is from volumes of Mediaite research and brainpower — late spring.

O’Reilly having Sawyer on tonight, instead of Van Sustern, does make some sense: Sawyer’s the bigger name, Giffords is a powerful symbol of how talking heads and politicians might want to look at some of the violent rhetoric they use, and the interview has been buzzed about since the first promos started to trickle out late last week. But, in Van Susteren’s defense, she scored an interview with Gloria Cain, the wife of a man who is being bombarded with sexual harassment claims and is within the margin of error in most polls of leading the Republican field of Presidential candidates. Gloria Cain has been, up until the last few days, in the shadows; nobody knows much about her. So while Sawyer’s argument is that she has arguably the bigger name and more compelling story, Van Susteren can rightly point out that she shares a network with O’Reilly and has a story that has been buzzed about in the news for a couple weeks.

Van Sustern probably isn’t happy about this; the most popular program on her own network is helping to promote a show opposite her own on a widely-watched channel that might not need the help. Give O’Reilly’s producers credit, at the very least, for not bowing to company lines and instead going after the big story. And be sure to vote below in out handsomely-designed poll on who you think should be getting the promo from O’Reilly:


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  • Kid Dynamite

    What’s the difference between Representative Giffords and Greta Van Sustern?

    All of the damage to Van Sustern’s face was self-inflicted.

  • Anonymous

    Greta has been on The O’Reilly Factor?  Really?  And Bill was there?  Are you sure there wasn’t a guest host?

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Maybe Bill-o doesn’t like cultists.

  • Anonymous

    If he was really looking out for the folks, Bill would have Brandi, Barry, Darrell and Jarrod on tonight to promote the new season of Storage Wars starting this week . That’s worth a sixty dollar bill right there.

  • Dnolbmud

    Bit of a subjective headline there . . .

  • Dave Hester

    Yuuuuup!!!

  • Anonymous

    I’m just going to sneak back to the locker I just bought to see if I get bitten by a rat.

  • Anonymous

    Another comment from the uncivil-left.

  • Anonymous

    I like Giffords but I will be watching Greta.

  • Kimberly

    I honestly don’t care about hearing from Herman Cain-the-man-who-will-never-be-president’s wife. I do, however, care about how a sitting Congresswoman is recovering from her near-assassination.

    I feel like this headline is trying to stir up controversy on a slow news day.

  • gib

    who cares? She is always on Hanity and he does good numbers to

  • Mister_indifferent1

    I’m surprised FOX News schedules anything opposite monday night wrestling.  It would be like Rachel Maddow going opposite the Prim Wine-Sippers of Manhattan. 

  • http://mikechimeriblog.com/ Mike C.

    It would stir up controversy on any news day.  Plenty of people have DVR and the internet.  So, watch one interview as it airs and the other later.  The Gloria Cain interview will likely be up on the FNC video webpage by 11:00.

  • Pablo

    Giffords is a powerful symbol of how talking heads and politicians might want to look at some of the violent rhetoric they use, and the interview has been buzzed about since the first promos started to trickle out late last week.

    No she isn’t. She’s a powerful symbol of the trouble with psychopaths. Her psychopath-inflicted tragedy was cynically used as a rhetorical crutch to prop up calls for civility made by people who, just a few months later, were calling their political opponents terrorists and hostage takers.

  • Anonymous

    There are 3 reasons.
    1. O’Reilly is not a big Cain fan.
    2. O’Reilly is never comfortable covering politicians with sex scandals. I think it has part to do with his own scandal. He was equally as distant during the Weiner scandal when conservatives were piling on. It’s not a big surprise he was off last week during the zenith of that Cain scandal.
    3. Sawyer on The Factor would be a bigger draw. While he can be quite the sexist pig at times, he very much respects those legendary female journalists: Walters, Sawyer et al.

  • Anonymous

    Your comment reflects your self imposed ignorance of only listening to those who support your political opinions and censoring out those who do not.  Try educating yourself more by exposing yourself to other other opinions and not thinking your opinion is the only correct opinion.  

  • Anonymous

    You are wrong. My comment was directed to the second  paragrah about the damage to Greta’s face(and I should have made that clear). That was a low blow and the left so very good at it. I am well aware of both sides.

    Did I say that my opinion is the only correct opinion? Don’t confuse me with YOURSELF!!!!!

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1572984371 Cindy Nowicki

    The Sawyer/Gifford interview has been in the works for quite some time.  I’m pretty sure Bill had Sawyer booked long before Greta obtained an interview with Mrs. Cain. Which only happened in the past couple of days.

    That makes more sense than claiming O’Reilly “snubbed” Greta!

  • http://hotair.com/ StewartIII

    J$P: Mediaite tries to instigate O’Reilly/Greta spat.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    A bit over the top. Perhaps, it was an unfunny, even crude joke, but, demonstrably, O’Van Susteren is the victim of some terribly botched plastic surgery.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    I won’t be watching it. I can’t bear Greta O’Van Susteren. Not even a moment. Rude. Talk-over. Whiny. I’d like to see Mrs. Herb, but not at this cost.

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Please don’t litter.

  • Anonymous

    That wasn’t an opinion. It was a personal attack. Fool.

  • Anonymous

    What’s your excuse?

  • Anonymous

    You’re here. That’s enough garbage.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    That is a demonstration of pure ad hominem criticism, and it’s out of line.

    This isn’t a left-right thing, it’s about civility. Flag this crap.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Now you’re going with the Full On Stupid defense. Give it up. There’s lots to criticize about the way Greta panders to winger memes; her appearance is out of bounds. I bet you yourself are not exactly a sunny walk if a flower filled park.

  • Rex the Wonder God

    Stop it. Encouraging this stuff is just as bad.

  • Anonymous

    O’Reilly seems to have Diane Sawyer on fairly often when she has a big special to promote – Jaycee Dugard comes to mind, I know she was on before that aired.

    I also don’t think Bill is much of a team player – he likes to be #1 on FNC. Ever notice how he never mentions Hannity? (I know they are reported to dislike each other).

  • Rex the Wonder God

    BillO is a party man, and Creepy Cain is no longer a GOP asset. That’s the clear takeaway. 

    BillO himself, personally, is an expert on detecting signs of misogynism; he knows exactly the dangers in supporting Creepy Cain in this stupid battle against womenkind.

    Creepy is toast.  

  • Rex the Wonder God

    And the police chases and prison guys with toad tattoos on their faces, too, I bet.

  • Anonymous

    You are so very wrong. I just posted that I love the 80 degree day and I just came in from winterizing all my flower beds. I love sunshine and flowers and have them in my back year and some are still thriving.

    Think you know everything, don’t you????

  • Rex the Wonder God

    She’s great in the Greta-The Donald Duo act on how the media just won’t let the birth certificate thing go and let Trump tell the world how to fix everything – every bit as tightly coreographed as the best of George Burns & Gracie Allen.

  • Moosenuts99

    “to” what?

  • Anonymous

    Not good man. Greta’s a fine lady. I like her and I’m not a conservative even though I think her show appeases the right. No need for personal attacks. Attack her behavior, not her looks. 

  • Anonymous

    Bildo soooo wanted Katie Couric’s job at CBS. How could they ignore his resume, and hire that dorky Scott Pelley?

  • Mister_indifferent1

    Her shooting should have been a wakeup call for those who call political opponents terrorists and hostage takers, which it will be/was in the short term, before everything goes back to the goofy status quo. 

    And I agree with you that it was simply a psychopath-inflicted tragedy… people want to ascribe higher meaning to the actions of this guy, when the only thing that separates him from five-hundred other murderers this year was his delusions of grandeur.  Just because the Giffords tragedy registered on a national scale doesn’t mean that it didn’t take place inside a vacuum.  I’m not pro or anti-gun (which is to say I don’t own one, but if I got one as a gift I’d high-five somebody and shout “fucking right!”), but this is something the anti-gunners need to look at. 

  • The Real Royal Emperor

    Back at you, Sweetness & Light.

  • bvicente

    Dumb question, dumb suggestion.  Fox News will do plenty of its own advertising of the Gloria Cain interview.  With O’Reilly interviewing Diane Sawyer, both programs had a chance to cover two good stories.  Good move for The Factor!

  • http://hotair.com/ StewartIII

    O’Reilly promoted both Diane Sawyer’s special and Greta Van Susteren’s special.  He did promote Sawyer’s special more, and rightfully so, since it’s about a very brave woman that nearly died.  Nando wasted his time with this article.

  • David Mellon

    Bill and Karl Rove did discuss the Gloria Cain interview briefly.  Bill said he wanted to watch it.  The discussion then moved to other Cain issues.

  • Anonymous

    Ah yes, the mean ol’ left strikes again.  Thanks to a member of the pure-as-the-driven-snow right for pointing it out.

  • Bob Uda

    O’Reilly Ignores Van Susteren Interview With Gloria Cain, Promoting Diane Sawyer’s Giffords Chat Instead

    O’Reilly is a small man in a big body.

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