Bill O'Reilly (host) life and biography

William James "Bill" O'Reilly, Jr. is an American television host, author, syndicated columnist and political commentator. He is the host of the political commentary program The O'Reilly Factor on the Fox News Channel, which is the most watched cable news television program on American television. 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 entertainment news program Inside Edition.

Born in Levittown, New York, O'Reilly graduated from Marist College in Poughkeepsie with a degree in history. He taught high school for two years in Miami, and then returned to school to earn a master's degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.

O'Reilly's television news career began in Scranton, Pennsylvania and included local news stops in Dallas, Denver, Portland and Boston. In 1980, he returned to New York to anchor his own program and then to join CBS as a news correspondent. In 1986, he moved to ABC News, where he received two Emmy Awards and two National Headliner Awards for excellence in reporting during his three-year tenure.

O'Reilly's career took a turn in 1989 when he joined the nationally syndicated Inside Edition. For the next five years, Inside Edition was the highest rated "infotainment" program in America. After six years as anchor, O'Reilly left Inside Edition to earn his master's degree in public policy at Harvard University.

Upon leaving Harvard, the startup Fox News Channel hired O'Reilly to do The O'Reilly Factor. With hard-driving interviews, blunt commentary and an oversized ego, O'Reilly deals with the nation's most important issues in an atmosphere referred to as the "No Spin Zone." In 2001, The Factor became the country's most watched cable news program. He has expanded his media presence to include a national radio show called The Radio Factor and a weekly syndicated newspaper column.

O'Reilly's two non-fiction books The O'Reilly Factor, and The No Spin Zone have each reached number one on The New York Times bestseller list. He has also written a novel called Those Who Trespass.

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