In the Fox’s Den

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“I’ll do it this time, Manskoff,” Bill would call after him, “just this once. But I’m tired of this bullshit!” He’d always slow down for the next part, hammering each phrase so there would be no mistake in the future: “I want the interference! With my show! To stop! Now!”

The Bill in that quote is Bill O’Reilly, as related by Joe Muto, who, despite his liberal political beliefs, worked at Fox News for eight years.

You can read a chapter from his book about the experience at Salon. There are a couple cheap laughs at O’Reilly’s expense—he thinks a remote print job is a fax, and so on—but he’s also portrayed with a surprising amount of humanity and a sort of grudging respect.

Oh, and it may be cold comfort, but it’s true: even Bill O’Reilly hates Rush Limbaugh.


Lauren O'Neal is an MFA student at San Francisco State University. Her writing has appeared in publications like Slate, The New Inquiry, and The Hairpin. You can follow her on Twitter at @laureneoneal. More from this author →