Veteran television host and bestselling author Bill O’Reilly says his biggest hurdle promoting his latest book isn’t critics — it’s the mainstream television networks that won’t let him through the door.
Appearing on Newsmax, O’Reilly described what he calls “the real censorship” in today’s media landscape.
“It’s very hard for non-liberal authors or singers or actors or anybody with a product to get on Jimmy Kimmel or any of the network program,” O’Reilly said on “Finnerty.” “Talk about lack of freedom of speech. That’s the real story, not Kimmel. I mean, that’s the real censorship.”
O’Reilly said that for the past decade — “ever since Trump’s gotten into [the] political arena” — the nation’s major television outlets have effectively imposed a ban on non-liberal guests.
“Five major television outlets refuse to book any non-liberal guests,” he continued. “You’ve got Mark Levin, he’s a big bestseller; you’ve got a lot of talent on Newsmax; got a lot of talent on Fox News that can have an intelligent conversation. You’ll never get on them.”
The former Fox News primetime host and prolific author said that while he was recently able to speak with CBS’ Major Garrett, a former colleague, such invitations are exceptions that prove the rule.
“That was new,” O’Reilly explained, noting that CBS new parent Skydance has signaled interest in changing the culture. “I think they’re trying to change the censorship thing here. So I did that.”
O’Reilly also recounted a brief offer from a CNN late-night program for a short segment, which he felt was too minor to matter. More striking, he said, was his personal outreach to Anderson Cooper.
“I confronted Anderson Cooper himself because I know him,” O’Reilly said. “And I said, ‘Hey, what’s the problem? You’re going to get much better ratings if you put me on. It’s a good book.’ But they just won’t because management” won’t allow it.
The media veteran stressed that the blackout on mainstream network bookings chills debate and narrows the national conversation. His remarks underscore the long-running critique of what Republicans see as a closed media ecosystem, one that sidelines conservative authors and thinkers from the majority of national platforms.
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