Bill O'Reilly's 'great ambushers...of justice' stalk blogger

[meegbear]

Blogger Amanda Terkel of ThinkProgress has become the latest victim of an ambush by a producer for Fox News host Bill O'Reilly.

The O'Reilly Factor's producers -- who have been dubbed "great ambushers...of justice" by The Daily Show's Jon Stewart -- are well-known for attempting to catch competing journalists as they go about their daily routines and firing accusatory questions at them.

Terkel had criticized O'Reilly for accepting an invitation to speak before a support group for rape survivors, even though he had suggested on his radio show last year that an 18-year-old, 5-foot-2-inch college student who was raped and murdered would "be alive today" if she hadn't been drunk and wearing an outfit with a bare midriff.

"This weekend, while on vacation, I was ambushed by O’Reilly’s top hit man, producer Jesse Watters, who accosted me on the street and told me that because I highlighted O’Reilly’s comments, I was causing 'pain and suffering' to rape victims and their families," Terkel writes. "He of course offered no proof to back up this claim, instead choosing to shout questions at me."

The producer accused ThinkProgress of being part of a "smear pipeline" and demanded that Terkel offer an apology on camera to rape victims. "O’Reilly never asked me for a statement nor invited me on his show before sending Watters to harass me," Terkel emphasizes. "Since I’m a 5 ft, 100 pound woman with an opinion that he doesn’t like, perhaps O’Reilly believes I deserve to be treated this way."

What makes the incident particularly disturbing is that it occurred while Terkel was on vacation, and the Fox producer and cameraman had apparently been stalking her for some time. She explains, "My friend and I were in this small town for a short weekend vacation and had told no one about where we were going. I can only infer that the two men staked out my apartment and then followed me for two hours. Looking back, my friend and I remember seeing their tan SUV following us for much of the trip."

Just a few weeks ago, Jon Stewart dissected O'Reilly's stalking techniques, contrasting them with his hypocritical attacks on paparazzi. Stewart commented that his "favorite part about the Factor is that they have no trouble reconciling their defense of celebrities' right to privacy with their intimidation of everyone else."

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http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Liberal_blogger_beset_by_one_of_0323.html

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

1. It's all fun and games until somebody turns it around ambushes you.

I love this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y_2IZT4VgDY

[chrisa]

12. Burned.

The O'Reillyites are creatures of ambush. When you fire back, they try to slither out like little snakes. To answer the last question, imo, ambushing somebody and hoping that they say the wrong thing so that you can edit a show to make them look bad is not journalism. Neither is hiding behind a program and its editors.

[sharp_stick]

2. These ambushing little shits

should be smacked once or twice. Just lure them a little bit at a time until they happen to be on private property then claim the right of self defense.

They aren't that bright, I could probably even verbally coax them into oncoming traffic with a little bit of effort.

[annabanana]

4. yeah.. and may this could happen in Florida

where there's kind of a shoot first ask questions later thing. .

[ProgressiveProfessor]

10. Mike Wallace and others pioneered this some time back

[sharp_stick]

11. One big difference though

Mike Wallace had the stones to join his camera guy and the producer in any ambush. Billo hasn't left the safety of his studio and mic cutoff button in years.

[annabanana]

3. Are bloggers all "public people" who have no legal protection

from stalkers?

[Gold Metal Flake]

5. Two words to remember when being thusly accosted: Andrea Mackris.

Keep asking Watters about Mackris, the harassturbator lawsuit, the settlement and the quotes from the O'Reilly verbal sexual attack. Bring up O'Reilly's alleged use of a vibrator on himself during the attack as well.

[sharp_stick]

6. Was that Olbermann

that suggested that? I remember hearing that awhile ago and laughed my ass off.

I'd love to see the look on that little pukes face if all you talked about was Andrea Mackris, the qualities of good falafel vs bad and whether or not a loofah actually increased the longevity of a bottle of your favorite body wash.

[Gold Metal Flake]

8. He did a video tutorial on the subject, the one you remember.

He presented various ways, good and bad, to deal with O'Reilly's stalkerpunks. It was hilarious. May be on you tube?

[sharp_stick]

9. That's it thanks n/t

[Downtown Hound]

7. Couldn't this kind of behavior be construed as stalking?

Following a woman around on vacation for days and then ambushing her with cameras? I really have to wonder about a system where this is allowed to go on.