''Those Who Trespass: A Novel of Television and Murder'' () is a 1998 novel by US television personality Bill O'Reilly. The story focuses on the revenge a television journalist exacts on

network Network, networking and networked may refer to: Science and technology * Network theory, the study of graphs as a representation of relations between discrete objects * Network science, an academic field that studies complex networks Mathematics ...

staff after disputes very similar to O'Reilly's real tensions with CBS (such as one involving

Falklands War The Falklands War ( es, link=no, Guerra de las Malvinas) was a ten-week undeclared war between Argentina and the United Kingdom in 1982 over two British dependent territories in the South Atlantic: the Falkland Islands and its territorial de ...

footage). The revenge takes the form of a series of graphically described murders. Nicholas Lemann
The Wayward Press: Fear Factor
''

The New Yorker ''The New Yorker'' is an American weekly magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. Founded as a weekly in 1925, the magazine is published 47 times annually, with five of these issues ...

'', March 27, 2006 The novel was first published in 1998 by a small publishing house, and rereleased in 2004 by

Broadway Books Broadway Books, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a Division of Random House, Inc., released its first list in Fall, 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquired Rando ...

as a trade paperback. On July 13, 2011, in O'Reilly's "Backstage Conversation" video section of the BillOreilly.com website, he responded to a viewer who asked "Does

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apocaly ...

still own the rights to ''Those who Trespass''?" O'Reilly replied, "He does not. We had two cycles with Mr. Gibson's production company—this was before he got into all the trouble—and now I own it again. So hopefully someone will step up."

Plot summary

The

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the chief foe of the protagonist. Etymology The English word antagonist comes from the Greek ἀνταγωνιστής – ''antagonistēs'', "opponent, competitor, villain, enemy, riv ...

is a tall, "no-nonsense" television journalist named Shannon Michaels, described as the product of two

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

parents, who is pushed out by Global News Network, and systematically murders the people who ruined his career. Meanwhile, the

protagonist A protagonist () is the main character of a story. The protagonist makes key decisions that affect the plot, primarily influencing the story and propelling it forward, and is often the character who faces the most significant obstacles. If a st ...

, a "straight-talking" Irish-American New York City homicide detective named Tommy O’Malley, is charged with solving the murders that Michaels has committed, while competing with Michaels for the heart of Ashley Van Buren, a blond, sexy

aristocrat The aristocracy is historically associated with "hereditary" or "ruling" social class. In many states, the aristocracy included the upper class of people (aristocrats) with hereditary rank and titles. In some, such as ancient Greece, ancient Ro ...

turned crime columnist. Some reviewers have said that Michaels and O'Malley are "thinly veiled versions" of O'Reilly. Michaels' first victim is a news correspondent who stole his story in Argentina, and got him into trouble with the network. He then stalks the woman who forced his resignation from the network and throws her off a balcony. After that he murders a television research consultant who had advised the local station to dismiss him by burying him in beach sand up to his neck and letting him slowly drown. Finally, during a break in the

Radio and Television News Directors Association The Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA, pronounced the same as " rotunda"), formerly the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), is a United States-based membership organization of radio, television, and online news dire ...

convention, he slits the throat of the station manager. After this, he is pursued by O'Malley and Van Buren, where he attempts to lose them by crossing a runway in front of a speeding jet. Although he makes it, his car's right back tire is cut by the jet's wing, causing the car to spin, flip over, and be subsequently melted by the exhaust from the jet, which explodes. Michaels dies in extreme agony, as his contacts (used to hide his identity) burn into his eyes and a chunk of the car crushes his head in.

Reception

'' called the book O'Reilly's "most ambitious and deeply felt piece of writing. 'Those Who Trespass' is a revenge fantasy, and it displays extraordinarily violent impulses". Michael Hastings, of

Salon.com ''Salon'' is an American politically progressive/liberal news and opinion website created in 1995. It publishes articles on U.S. politics, culture, and current events. Content and coverage ''Salon'' covers a variety of topics, including re ...

, commented that the book gave the reader a look inside the author's mind. "The talented talk-show host serves up characters who are paranoid, arrogant, insecure and supremely egotistical. On television, those qualities are O'Reilly's greatest assets". The satirist Stephen Colbert, who parodies O'Reilly on his show ''

The Colbert Report ''The Colbert Report'' ( ) is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by Stephen Colbert that aired four days a week on Comedy Central from October 17, 2005, to December 18, 2014, for 1,447 episodes. The show focuse ...

'', stated that his sci-fi character

Tek Jansen Tek Jansen is a fictional character featured on ''The Colbert Report'' and in a comic book series published by Oni Press. Jansen originated as a recurring joke in the form of a supposed self-published science fiction novel on the ''Report'', repor ...

was originally inspired by O'Reilly and ''Those Who Trespass''. The character originated in a fictional book that his political pundit character constantly referred to and promoted on his show. Tek Jansen, an idealised version of Colbert's character on ''The Colbert Report'', is a reference to the accusations of the characters in ''Those Who Trespass'' being based on O'Reilly. In his book ''

Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them'' is a satirical book on American politics by Al Franken, a comedian, political commentator, and politician. It was published in 2003 by Dutton Penguin. Franken had a study group of 14 Harvard graduate stud ...

'', former US Senator Al Franken, discussed O'Reilly's graphic depiction of a sexual encounter between Shannon Michaels and Ashley Van Buren, suggesting that this made O'Reilly guilty of hypocrisy when he later criticized rap artist Ludacris for indecent and profane lyrics in his songs.Franken, Al: ''Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them''. Plume, 2004, The encounter is referenced throughout the novel in different forms, such as a fictional sexual relationship between Florida Secretary of State

Katherine Harris Katherine Harris (born April 5, 1957) is a former American politician. A Republican, Harris served in the Florida Senate from 1994 to 1998, as Secretary of State of Florida from 1999 to 2002, and as a member of the United States House of Represe ...

and

Mac Stipanovich John McKager "Mac" Stipanovich (born November 26, 1948) is an American lobbyist, political strategist, and activist, best known for his role in the 2000 United States presidential election recount in Florida, in which he helped advise then-Secretar ...

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

and a dirty story O'Reilly tells Supreme Court Justice

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President George H. W. Bush to succeed Thurgood Marshall and has served since 199 ...

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

References

{{Bill O'Reilly 1998 American novels American crime novels Books by Bill O'Reilly (political commentator) 1998 debut novels Broadway Books books