On the surface, O'Reilly's charges revolve around GE's
history of doing business with Iran, the newspaper reported.
But the attacks grow out of "an increasingly bitter feud
between O'Reilly and the company's high-profile subsidiary,
NBC," it said.
A spokeswoman for Fox News, a unit of News Corp, declined
comment.
GE said it put out a statement on its website in April
saying that GE and its board decided in 2005 that it would no
longer do business in Iran because of developing conditions in
that country and concerns expressed by shareholders.
"The exceptions were to run down existing contracts and
humanitarian activity authorized by U.S. Government licenses,"
GE said. "Since then, GE has done everything it said it would
do in 2005. Today, GE has very little business left in Iran and
will have completed all business in Iran by the end of June."
The statement said at all times GE's policy was "fully
compliant with U.S. and all applicable laws."
O'Reilly and MSNBC host Keith Olbermann have engaged in an
increasingly nasty battle in the past few years, with O'Reilly
often appearing in Olbermann's nightly "Worst Person in the
World" segment.
While Olbermann has gained some market share in the
TV-watching demographic of 25- to 54-year-old viewers, O'Reilly
still holds an overall ratings lead. Both O'Reilly and
Olbermann have seen their ratings move higher during the
presidential campaign.
(Reporting by Megan Davies; Editing by Tim Dobbyn, Gary
Hill)
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