It seems that this year is turning out to be one where public figures are being judged by their truthfulness. It started out with Brian Williams and fact checking around his assertions regarding certain incidents. And while he has since apologized for his misstatements, we continue to have fun at his expense.
But Mr. Williams may be old news as allegations around news reporting by Bill O'Reilly over 30 years ago comes to the forefront. True or not, hasn't the statute of limitations run out by now. Is this latest challenge meant to move the focus off of Brian Williams or is it to become a witch hunt against all other news reporters and anchors? While we all expect our news and its reporters to be credible, we also know that there is clearly little impartiality in news these days. Some stations lean farther and farther to the right while others push a more left agenda. Still we hope that they are reporting facts and not lies and innuendos.
With the latest target on Bill O'Reilly, I wonder what is truly the motive for the report. Is it to show the public that Mr. O"Reilly has been systematically lying to the public since 1982? Certainly that has been facing Mr. Williams that he has being stretching more than a few stories surrounding his news reporting. Ethics should exist as a black and white benchmark to all of us. Unless Bill O'Reilly has been telling multiple "stories", this 30 year old story seems like mud throwing.
We all like to tell tall tales, some more than others, and some stories clearly taller than others. For those whose careers put them in the public eye, egos can sometimes get in the way. Perhaps it would be best to follow Will Rogers' advice: "Get someone else to blow your own horn and the sound will carry twice as far".
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