Bill O'Reilly
Bill O'Reilly is the host of the political opinion show The O'Reilly Factor on the FOX News network and the author of the best-selling books The O'Reilly Factor and The No-Spin Zone. After 20 years as a reporter and anchor in smaller U.S. TV markets, O'Reilly landed a job as a correspondent with ABC News in 1986. From 1989-94 he hosted the tabloid news show Inside Edition, and in 1996 signed on with FOX to host his own show. It didn't take long for his in-your-face style to catch on, and his self-appointed position as the "common man" battling intellectual elites garnered him a huge audience. In 2002 he began a radio show, The Radio Factor. Although O'Reilly is right-of-center politically, he has drawn the ire from some conservative groups for his defense of homosexuality and his positions on environmental issues. His on-air provocative style has seeped into his public life as well: O'Reilly's feuds with comedian Al Franken and National Public Radio's Terry Gross have become modern media legends.
Extra credit: Other pundits and columnists of the same era include Matt Drudge, Rush Limbaugh and Maureen Dowd.