The O'Reilly Factor

The O'Reilly Factor, originally titled The O'Reilly Report from 1996 to 1998 and often called The Factor, is an American cable television news and talk show on the Fox News Channel hosted by political commentator Bill O'Reilly, who often discusses current controversial political issues with guests.

Format

The O'Reilly Factor is generally pre-recorded, though on occasion it airs live if breaking news or special events are being covered (e.g. presidential addresses that occur during prime-time & debate coverage). It is usually taped between 5:00 and 7:00 PM Eastern Time and airs weekdays at 8:00 PM and 11:00 PM. The show is recorded "live to tape", meaning that the recording breaks for commercials as if the show was actually on the air while being recorded. Some guests are interviewed before the "live to tape" period and are slotted in the program as appropriate.

O'Reilly and his producers discuss potential topics twice a week. A producer will research the story and book guests for O'Reilly, and an information packet will be produced with possible angles for O'Reilly to explore.

Bill O'Reilly (political commentator)

William James O'Reilly, Jr. (born September 10, 1949), known as Bill O'Reilly, is an American television host, author, historian, journalist, syndicated columnist, and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel. During the late 1970s and 1980s, he worked as a news reporter for various local television stations in the United States and eventually for CBS News and ABC News. From 1989 to 1995, he was anchor of the news magazine program Inside Edition.

O'Reilly is widely considered a conservative commentator, though some of his positions diverge from conservative orthodoxy. O'Reilly is registered as a member of the Independence Party of New York, and was formerly registered as a Republican (see: Political views of Bill O'Reilly) and characterizes himself as a "traditionalist." O'Reilly is the author of over a dozen books, and hosted The Radio Factor until early 2009.

Early life

O'Reilly was born on September 10, 1949, at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in New York City, to parents William James, Sr., (deceased) and Winifred Angela (Drake) O'Reilly, from Brooklyn and Teaneck, New Jersey, respectively. O'Reilly is of Irish descent, along with a small amount of English (Colonial American) ancestry. Some of his father's ancestors lived in County Cavan, Ireland, since the early eighteenth century, and on his mother's side, he has ancestry from Northern Ireland. The O'Reilly family lived in a small apartment in Fort Lee, New Jersey, when their son was born. In 1951 his family moved to Levittown, on Long Island. O'Reilly has a sister, Janet.