Olbermann named O'Reilly "Worst Person" for suggesting Soros funded
 
Date: Tue, 08 May 2007 14:08:05 -0400


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<p><b>Olbermann named O'Reilly "Worst Person" for suggesting Soros funded IU
study </b></p>
<p><a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705080005?src=item200705080005">http://mediamatters.org/items/200705080005</a></p>

<p>On the May 7 edition of MSNBC&#39;s <i>Countdown</i>, host Keith Olbermann named Fox News&#39; <a href="http://mediamatters.org/issues_topics/people/billoreilly?src=item200705080005">Bill O&#39;Reilly</a>
the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" segment for, as
<i>Media Matters for America</i> <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200705040008?src=item200705080005">documented</a>, suggesting
that a recent Indiana University <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200705080005&http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/normal/5535.html">study</a> -- which found that
"O&#39;Reilly called a person or a group a derogatory name once every 6.8
seconds, on average, or nearly nine times every minute during the [&#39;Talking
Points Memo&#39;] editorials that open his program each night" -- was funded by
philanthropist George Soros. </p>

<p>As <i>Media Matters</i> noted,
Soros&#39; Open Society Institute (OSI) <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200705080005&http://newsinfo.iu.edu/news/page/print/2079.html">donated</a> $5 million
to Indiana University
in 2005, but the donation was directed to establish an endowment for the American University
of Central Asia in Kyrgyzstan,
with the U.S. Agency for International Development providing another $10
million. OSI has partnered with IU in other ventures, such as developing higher
education curriculum in <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200705080005&http://www.osi-az.org/hesp.shtml">Azerbaijan</a>,
preparing <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200705080005&http://www.soros.org/initiatives/bpsai/focus_areas/burma/grantees/indianauniversity_2003">Burmese
refugees</a> for
college, and developing a degree program for teaching second languages in <a href="http://mediamatters.org/rd?src=item200705080005&http://eac.bilim.kz/page.php?page_id=271&amp;lang=2&amp;id=104">Kazakhstan</a>.
According to the IU press release about the study, "The researchers received no grant
funding for this study." </p>

<p>During the show, Olbermann said of O&#39;Reilly:
"Bill just made the Soros stuff up. And as if you needed to spend [$]5 million to know Bill-O
insults people." </p>

<p>As <i>Media Matters</i>
has noted (<a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200611290006?src=item200705080005">here</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200701290003?src=item200705080005">here</a>, <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200703130008?src=item200705080005">here</a>, and <a href="http://mediamatters.org/items/200702200004?src=item200705080005">here</a>), O&#39;Reilly is a
frequent finalist in the "Worst Person" competition.</p>

<p>From the May 7 broadcast of MSNBC&#39;s <i>Countdown with Keith Olbermann</i>:</p><blockquote>

<p>OLBERMANN: And our winner? Bill-O.
Remember that Indiana University study that, while he claims he never does
these personal attacks, he in fact calls a person or a group a derogatory name
once every seven seconds during those yakking notes memos that he does?
He&#39;s now claimed that this is just another smear by George Soros, who
apparently owns the University
 of Indiana. He claims
Soros donated $5 million to Indiana
 University.</p>

<p>

Well, Soros did donate $5 million to
IU, but not to study O&#39;Reilly -- rather to fund Indiana&#39;s
educational outreach in Kyrgyzstan,
Azerbaijan, and Burma.
In fact, the university says, the O&#39;Reilly study got no funding. Bill
just made the Soros stuff up. And as if you needed to spend [$]5 million to know Bill-O insults people.
Bill "Orally": today&#39;s Worst Person in the
World!</p></blockquote><table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>Bill O'Reilly</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="mailto:oreilly@foxnews.com">oreilly@foxnews.com</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>Keith Olbermann</b></td>
<td valign="top"></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>Countdown with Keith Olbermann</b></td>
<td valign="top"></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>MSNBC</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="mailto:viewerservices@msnbc.com">viewerservices@msnbc.com</a>
<br />MSNBC TV
<br />One MSNBC Plaza
<br />Secaucus, N.J. 07094
<br /><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3303518/">MSNBC contacts</a></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table width="100%" style="background: #e8e8e8; 
border: 1px solid  #ffffff; font-size: 80%" cellpadding="1">
<tr>
<td style="border-right: 1px solid  #ffffff;" 
width="40%">
</b> Contact: <br />
<b>The O'Reilly Factor</b></td>
<td valign="top"><a href="mailto:oreilly@foxnews.com">The O'Reilly Factor</a></td>
</tr>
</table>



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