Bill O'Reilly

One of the TV and radio's biggest lightning rods of political commentary, Bill O'Reilly, Multi-media personality and author, is returning to radio with a daunting goal of emulating the understated perspective of radio icon Paul Harvey. The 15-minute daily newscasts, which debut nationwide on April 23rd, promises to essentially play it down the middle with no spin or agenda. One can legitimately question the possibility of anyone, let alone a high-profile personality like Bill O'Reilly, coming off as reasonably bipartisan and balanced in today's ultra-polarized environment where most people seem to look at politics in stark "friend or foe" terms. Yet O'Reilly believes his multi-media bona fides in news, commentary and as a non-fiction author can enable him to do just that. Here's how he sees it...

You've already done TV, radio, books and most recently podcasting. Why have you decided to get back into radio?

A couple of things. One, I'm going to try to emulate a Paul Harvey-type broadcast, and I believe that the nation would be well served by having a 15-minute newscast with no BS, no spin or that's agenda-driven. I feel that's something the country can benefit from. The second reason is due to the changing media. We want to expand our reach beyond what we're doing with the website and podcasts -- and syndication radio is the exact way for us to do that. And the third reason is because I can still put in the intellectual work and do it in my jammies in the privacy of my house.

Besides the fact that your show will only be 15 minutes long, what else differentiates this from the bevy of syndicated talk programming already out there?

It's the way we'll use our editorial time. We're fortunate in that a lot of people want to advertise with us right from the start, which enables us to devote our editorial time to do what we really want, be it news updates or a commentary aspect. And it gives me the time to do that work really well.

What about the content of your show? How are divvying up time for news, commentaries and human interest stories ... will you have guests?

There's no specific format, such as having five hard news and two features every day. We will tailor the format to fit the news of the day; the content will be dictated by whatever's going on. There will be no guests. We will do some light stuff; we'll have a file of interesting stories to bring out on those slow news days, but the key is to keep it moving and react to whatever's top of mind. Listeners are not going to bother to figure out what someone's saying. That's why I plan to spell it all out right in your face - and I'll always do it in an entertaining way. That's the same successful formula I've used in my 45 years in journalism. You bring something solid and present it in an entertaining way. That's also the same thing I do in my history books; I make them fun to read.

Isn't it tough presenting yourself as a balanced arbiter in such a polarized environment?

It's not hard for me. I've developed a nice relationship over the years with the fans of The Factor; they understood what I was doing - and that was being a watchdog to look out for folks instead of political parties. We created a really good synergy there. As far as being an objective or a responsible reporter, that's not hard for me, either. I was reporter for many years before I became a commentator. I just lay the facts out there. Besides hard news and features, the third part on my broadcasts will be opinion. And I will do that in a way that when I say, "This is what I believe is happening," I back it up with facts.

Your show is not offering barter and your advertisers are already booked. Is that a reflection of the boycott mania prevalent in politically-based TV and radio?

There is a lot of boycotting going on, which I feel is un-American. And I don't want to be in business with anybody who would subscribe to that. There are enough good, solid, honest companies that understand what this country is about - the fact that a diversity of opinion is what makes us great. I've had no problem getting people to advertise, but more than that, I only take sponsors I believe in. Folks know that I'm not going to sell them something that isn't a good fit for my show. I'm not going to take in an advertiser of something I don't believe in or I have a question about. At this point in my life, I'm not in this for the money. When you don't need money, it's easier for you to promote things that provide a greater good for folks.

How does your radio show differ from your podcast?

The radio show and the podcast are different, but we will synergize the two. People get to watch our podcasts, which are much different than listening to our radio show. We have guests on our podcasts and they're much more opinion-driven than the radio show.

Having my own podcast instead of a cable TV show allows me to run my own news agency. I don't have to deal with all the corporate nonsense, which is a great weight off my shoulders. Another significant difference is that I don't have to hit the computer to break things up for commercial breaks. In TV, we had a certain amount of time for each element and when that time was up, we stopped for commercials about Marie Osmond selling another weight loss plan. I don't have to go along with that on my podcasts. When I have guests on them, there's no rush to finish and there's none of those forced commercial times. That makes it easier to do good interviews. You can extend them if they warrant it.

How has social media impacted how you do your radio shows and podcasts? Do you use it a lot ... do you like how it has impacted our culture?

First off, let me say that following the arrest of Julian Assange, he's going to spend lot of time in prison. To your question, there is a danger in social media, where you're coming into a public arena with no regulation. You don't have editors; there's no accountability. If you get the story wrong, or attack or defame someone, no safeguard exists. It's like going into a jungle. Now there are plenty of good things about a jungle; there are great things to see and there are medicinal plants. But you will get hurt if you're not careful. For social media to really work, it requires you to have a bit of intelligence. Some but not all people do. I always have to tell everyone: Do NOT believe everything you see and read on the Internet. It's easy to be fooled by a distortion of the facts. There's no editor there to make sure what you're reading is honest. Unfortunately, they use mostly click bait to get you in now - and worse still, that click bait is now being used by the mainstream media. The standards of reportage is collapsing there, which proves that social media can have a negative effect. Of course I use social media in my research, but you have to know what you're doing to use it right.

With no guests on your show, will you miss opportunities to interview those in power?

Not really. I just got off Air Force 1 with Donald Trump. I've just finished writing a book, "The United States Of Trump: How The President Really Sees America," so I still have access to the corridors of power. I'm still able to cover the big breaking news, but let me tell you, my life is a lot better now than when I was killing myself, which I literally did for 20 years to build The O'Reilly Factor into the colossus it became. It took a lot work and put a lot of stress on my life. It's much better that I took a big break and went my own way.

There have long been persistent rumors of you going back to TV. Any truth to them?

I don't know if that's ever going to happen, I'm not lobbying to do it, but I would consider it if things were done my way and they set up a situation where I felt I could get a good message out. Again, it would have to be all my way for me to consider it. I have had a lot of offers, including some very nice ones, and I'm very flattered, but they weren't quite right. I don't need to do this; I'm not trying to build a career to make money or any of that. But if I think it's going to be worthwhile, enjoyable and it reflects the changing media world, I'll look at it and we'll see what happens.

Since you're not trying to build a career after all you've already done, have you ever considered a three or five-year strategy before finally kicking back and enjoying the fruits of your efforts?

I might retire at some point, but it depends on the country and the way it is - and right now, I think we're in the middle of a social civil war. This is a real dangerous time for America. Now you don't have to agree with me, and I'll never require that you do, but when I say something I believe, it's true. For instance, I am the most successful nonfiction author in history; no one has sold more nonfiction books than I have. With 17 million copies of the "Killing" series, nobody has ever come close to that. The reason for that success is, if you read my books and listen to my commentaries, that I'm not misleading you. I'm telling you just what's happening - and there's currency in that. I don't want to sound egotistical, but I feel my perspective is necessary right now. The Trump history book is something that's never been done before. It's not pro-Trump, it's not con-Trump, but it will tell you how he did what he has done, and I'll tell you in such a way that you'll enjoy reading it.