Stars, Money and the Tsunami...
Thursday, January 06, 2005
By Bill O'Reilly

Stars, money, and the tsunami: they are the subjects of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

As Yogi Berra (search) once said, "it is deja vu all over again." You may remember that in the aftermath of the 9/11 attack, there was a celebrity-driven TV telethon that raised millions for the affected families. And now, there will be another telethon raising money for those hurt by those the tsunami.

And once again, our pal [actor] George Clooney (search) will be involved. You may also remember that Clooney strenuously objected to “The Factor” investigation that uncovered problems in distributing the 9/11 money, even though we proved our case and the Red Cross (search) revamped its entire operation because of it.

Clooney objected to many things, but one of them was my insistence that if celebrities ask for money, they have a moral obligation to see the donations go where they're supposed to go. -- Clooney disagreed.

So now we're back in the same spot. A national TV telethon will raise millions and “The Factor” will be watching to see if the money gets to the tsunami victims. If it does not, there will be trouble. And this time nobody can say they weren't warned.

If George Clooney and other stars go on TV and ask you to give, then they had better be involved all the way down the line. Now I don't expect the celebrities to audit the books, but if problems are brought to their attention, they must help solve those problems.

Sending billions of dollars into chaotic areas is fraught with danger, even if is the right thing to do. Americans must demand reasonable accountability. We expect some of the money to be stolen or wasted. But we also expect American authorities to hold people accountable and to let us know if bad things are happening.

"Talking Points" believes the American people are the most generous in the world. But it is our job here to make sure you are not taken advantage of. And we will do that job. We want the telethon to be a big success and we applaud the time and generosity of George Clooney and the other stars. But with power comes responsibility. And we expect all the telethon people to understand that.

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This is the response letter just sent from George Clooney to Bill O'Reilly. 

January 10, 2005

Mr. O’Reilly,

In response to your lead story on January 6, where you attack the Sept. 11 telethon, it is incumbent upon me to help you get your facts straight.

First, to clarify, it was not the Red Cross but the United Way that sponsored that telethon... an easy mistake to make... if you're 3.

Second, contrary to what you claim, no one objected to you investigating where the funds were going, but we strenuously objected to you insinuating that it was a fraud (which is what you did) as we were still waiting for a list of names of the dead. 6,000 was the number when you broadcast your attack (some 3,000 was the real number), that is simply a fact... no spin. There's no question, sir, that you have become quite powerful. The panic that you started that week scared other charitable organizations into simply handing out money to anyone who walked into their office. I suppose the threat of a Senate investigation would scare most anybody. It was an interesting week though... you showed up on the Today Show to talk about the telethon, but when pressed by Matt Lauer, admitted that you would only talk about the scandal if they hawked your new book. Fact... no spin. You said your tactics weren’t about ratings, and that same week took out ads bragging about beating Larry King for the first time, all while Eliot Spitzer and Frank Thomas and Josh Gotbaum were weeding through the difficult task of who was dead and who was not.

I don't make as much money as you, Mr. O’Reilly (a fact that's easy to check), but I'm fascinated by your use of the word CELEBRITY as if you're not one... you put on make up, you do Leno, The Today Show, go on book tours, and do junkets, so let’s be clear... you are a well paid celebrity. Period. No spin. And, to quote you last week, "with power comes responsibility"... people canceled their pledges because YOU told them that the telethon was flawed... a lot of money that should have gone to a lot of needy families didn't, because you wanted a controversy... and controversy has made you a celebrity... remember, sir, that this is me you're talking to publicly. I was the one you called several times the day before the telethon to say that we “had to include ‘The Factor’” in the press interviews, and that it "wasn't fair to leave us out, we’re a news program”. Fact... no spin. I think people should know that.

Now, here's the only important fact: the 9/11 telethon was an unqualified success from the beginning to the present and we make sure of it. (I say WE because I'm on the board of directors of the United Way).

Your report last Thursday was a preemptive strike... NOT to protect the families affected by the tsunami, but to create more controversy for your own personal gain. Because of it, fewer people will donate money to help truly traumatized victims; they'll be afraid that their money will do no good.

So all right, Mr. Journalist... come on in. I'm booking the talent for the Tsunami event... and you, Mr. O’Reilly, are now officially invited to be a presenter... (at this point, not one of the people I’ve invited to donate their time has said “No”)... this way, You can personally follow up on our fundraising... this is your chance to put your considerable money where your considerable mouth is... show up... help raise money... and if we're doing something wrong, point it out. I believe firmly in the check and balance system... you'll get nothing but a handshake and a “Thanks for helping out” from all of the rest of us “celebrities”.

So what do you say, Mr. O’Reilly... either you ante up and help out AND be that watch dog that you feel we clearly need... or you simply stand on the sidelines and cast stones, proving that your January 6 TV show was nothing more than a “box of lights and wires” designed to make you wealthy.

We do the show this Saturday, it’s across the street from where you shoot “The Factor”.

I'll need a quick response.

Your fan,

George Clooney

You know,
In many ways, I like Bill O'Reilly. He often DOES bring to light the truth to Spin and cuts through all the double-speak. The problem is exactly what George Clooney writes - O'Reilly has an agenda. But it is not a right wing agenda, it's a
"Bill O'Reilly" agenda. O'Reilly is most self-interested person I know of (besides maybe Katie Couric). And this self-interest drives what issues are important to him.

Bill O' Reilly is such an ass, that it tends to invalidate anything of use he has to say.

The news hsa been a place for celebrities and not journalists, and newscasters that have any semblance of truth or honesty.

My general observations: Clooney makes some decent points good for him, because O is the one who always get the last word especially on HIS OWN SHOW.

O might have been or tried or petended to be Robinhood or something long ago but since has become a cartoon character of himself, a book a childrens book whats next vitamins? A large part of this is when you have a 3 hour radio show and a 1 hour TV show inevitably you will wind up blowing a lot of hot air it is impossible to have a meaning deep 3 hr conversation day after day of great meaningful content, since much of this time dedicated to self promotion it is in fact just hot air.

Even a broken clock is right twice a day: Sometimes he is on target, sometimes he is right and he can be entertaining and you know you'll get a good show. However it is not because he is looking out for me or you, Bill O is looking out for Bill O.

Lastly, it saddens me that over 150K people have already been pronounced dead, but you need to be realistic if something ever had corruption written on it, I think it will wind up costing about $900 to ship a 1 lb bag of rice over there after all is said and done, huge donations pouring in, no records, all 3rd world countries, bad conditions, multiple nations, different currencies, much of this money will go into a few sets of wrong hands. There is simply too much $$$$ flowing there fo it not to happen.