62. A member of the comedy elite Al Franken, “Meet Al,” AlFranken.com, http://www.alfranken.com/meet-al/.
63. In 1996, he published “Best Sellers,” New York Times, March 3, 1996.
64. For his follow-up Al Franken, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them (New York: Penguin, 2003).
65. By the spring Matt Zoller Seitz, “O’Reilly Formula: It’s All About Good vs. Evil,” Newark Star-Ledger, May 11, 2003.
66. Often his targets Bill O’Reilly, “Back of the Book,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, March 24, 2003.
67. Or Hollywood Bill O’Reilly, “Talking Points,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, April 9, 2003.
68. He hammered Bill O’Reilly, “Talking Points,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, Jan. 5, 2005.
69. “We’ve changed the country” Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 208.
70. Through his various Ibid., 185.
71. “He sees O’Reilly” Author interview with a senior Fox executive.
72. One night, he called Bill O’Reilly, “Interview with Progressive Magazine’s Matthew Rothschild,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, May 19, 2003.
73. On another program Bill O’Reilly, “Top Story,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, Aug. 27, 2002.
74. “He’s hyper-suspicious” Author interview with a former O’Reilly producer.
75. O’Reilly declared to a reporter Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 217.
76. “This has happened” Ibid.
77. During a February 2003 Bill O’Reilly, “Personal Stories,” The O’Reilly Factor, Fox News Channel, Feb. 4, 2003.
78. “Get the fuck” Author interview with a former O’Reilly producer.
79. After one taping Author interviews with sources familiar with the incident.
80. “I’m the big gun” Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 232.
81. His relationship with Sean Hannity Author interviews with Patrick Halpin and senior Fox executives.
82. “His was the only show” Author interview with a former senior Fox executive.
83. As Franken was putting Bill O’Reilly, Who’s Looking Out for You? (New York: Crown, 2003).
84. “You’re just going to give” Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 226.
85. The event “BEA 2003: Al Franken, Molly Ivins, and Bill O’Reilly Panel Discussion,” BookTV.org, C-Span2, http://www.booktv.org/Watch/3856/BEA+2003+Al+Franken+Molly+Ivins+Bill+OReilly+Panel+Discussion.aspx, accessed Sept. 19, 2013.
86. “This is what he does” Bill O’Reilly, “Profiting from Malice,” Foxnews.com, June 3, 2003, http://www.foxnews.com/story/2003/06/03/profiting-from-malice/.
87. He told Fox Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 232; author interview with a senior Fox executive.
88. On August 7 Fox News Network, LLC v. Penguin Group (USA), Inc., 2003 W.L. 23281520 (2003), complaint, http://news.findlaw.com/hdocs/docs/ip/foxpenguin80703cmp.pdf, accessed Sept. 19, 2013.
89. Penguin’s outside counsel Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 233.
90. “Is Fox really claiming” Ibid., 234.
91. It was ironic Ibid., 235.
92. Penguin rushed Lies Emily Eakin, “Among Best-Selling Authors the Daggers Are Out,” New York Times, Oct. 5, 2003.
93. “It’s time to return” “Fair or Not, Fox Drops Suit Against Franken,” Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug. 26, 2003.
94. He launched a show Seth Sutel, “Franken, Garofalo to Take on Limbaugh on New Liberal Radio Network,” Associated Press, March 10, 2004.
95. “When somebody calls you” Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 225.
96. But in private Author interviews with current and former Fox News executives.
97. The letter was hand-delivered The details of this letter can be found in Richard T. Pienciak, “How Covers Came Off the O’Reilly Fone Sex Scandaclass="underline" Behind-the-Scenes Look at Her Harassment Rap,” New York Daily News, Oct. 24, 2004.
98. Morelli wrote See Fox News Network, LLC v. Mackris, complaint (N.Y. Sup. Ct., 2004); also available at http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/oreilly-female-aide-60m-extort-bid?page=0, accessed Oct. 30, 2013.
99. He claimed Robert Kolker, “Benedict Morelli Feels Your Pain,” New York, March 13, 2000.
100. Morelli’s client Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 249.
101. “Dianne would often say” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
102. “Not my politics” Author interview with a media talent agent.
103. “The whole Fox culture” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
104. In their meeting Pienciak, “How Covers Came Off the O’Reilly Fone Sex Scandal.”
105. The document stipulated Mackris v. O’Reilly, verified complaint (N.Y. Sup. Ct., 2004); also available at http://www.thesmokinggun.com/file/oreilly-falafel-suit-turns-five?page=0. Many of the details in the following paragraphs are taken directly from this complaint.
106. It wasn’t just Author interview with a former Fox producer.
107. “She was a” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
108. Feeling underpaid Heather Gilmore, “How ‘Buddies’ Andrea and Bill Entered Their Tailspin Zone,” New York Post, Oct. 24, 2004.
109. In one passage Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 251.
110. So was Murdoch Author interview with a Murdoch adviser.
111. Morelli continued to play hardball Lloyd Grove and Adam Nichols, “Say O’Reilly Accuser Scoffed at 2M Offer,” New York Daily News, Oct. 20, 2004.
112. Morelli’s refusal Ibid., 257.
113. There were unanswered questions Author interviews with sources familiar with the matter.
114. “When she was with” Author interview with a former Fox producer.
115. On the evening Pienciak, “How Covers Came Off the O’Reilly Fone Sex Scandal.”
116. “If you don’t resolve” Ibid.
117. “This is indeed” Ibid.
118. Green filed Ibid.
119. From the outset Author interview with a source familiar with the matter.
120. Except for a few See Kitman, The Man Who Would Not Shut Up, 256.
121. To gather dirt “O’Reilly’s Lawyer Explains the Extortion Suit Against Andrea Mackris,” The Abrams Report, MSNBC, Oct. 21, 2004, http://www.nbcnews.com/id/6298207/ns/msnbc-the_abrams_report/t/oreillys-lawyer-explains-extortion-suit-against-andrea-mackris/#.UjzOEWQ60y8.