On the January 9 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, media psychologist Caryn Stark watched a clip of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor to analyze the body language of host Bill O'Reilly and determined that, during that particular show, O'Reilly exhibited “typical primate behavior” and “ma[de] a lot of noise and a lot of fury about nothing.” Host Joe Scarborough introduced the segment by saying that O'Reilly “has been on an absolute rampage against NBC, MSNBC, and all things peacock recently." He also stated that, on the January 5 edition of the Factor, O'Reilly “tried to get [NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell] to confess to NBC's deep-rooted Bush-hating.” He then showed a clip of the January 9 edition of the Factor, during which O'Reilly asked body language expert Tonya Reiman to analyze Mitchell during her appearance on the show January 5. Scarborough explained: "[W]e decided to bring our own expert in ... to analyze Bill O'Reilly's body language and figure out what's behind his obsession with NBC. This is what we learned."

While a video clip of the Factor played, showing O'Reilly gesturing several times, Stark stated: “He's making emphasis. He's screaming. And he starts flailing his hands around, and that's typical primate behavior that shows that 'this is my territory; I'm protecting it.' ” Watching O'Reilly pointing his finger forward, Stark explained, "[T]hat's saying: 'I'm making my point. I'm angry.' And that's rage." After examining additional O'Reilly hand gestures, Stark stated: “He obsesses about his points. He mentions liberal ... over and over again. 'I'm obsessed with this point about being a liberal and I'm going to let you know, and I'm going to use my fingers for emphasis, and I'm going to make a lot of noise and a lot of fury about nothing.' ” Stark added: “I don't think we have to pay too much attention to what he's doing because he's enjoying himself, and he's doing a lot of, 'here's my territory, and I'm going to protect it.' ”

As the weblog News Hounds has noted, O'Reilly frequently hosts Reiman to analyze the body language of public figures.

Later in the discussion on Scarborough Country, Congressional Quarterly columnist and MSNBC political analyst Craig Crawford stated: "[O'Reilly's] based a show on hating somebody. I mean, he's built an audience of people who want to hear that, and he delivers every night and it's all about hate. It's like any other addiction, you know, you got to feed the habit."

From the January 9 edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country:

SCARBOROUGH: It's official: Bill O'Reilly's obsessed. The Fox News “culture warrior” has been on an absolute rampage against NBC, MSNBC, and all things peacock recently, claiming that this network has taken a dramatic turn to the left. He even brought on NBC's Andrea Mitchell last week and tried to get her to confess to NBC's deep-rooted Bush-hating. But when one of Washington's most respected journalists stood her ground, O'Reilly continued those attacks, this time by bringing in a body language expert. Here's what O'Reilly had to say just a short time ago.

O'REILLY [video clip]: I was basically putting forth that NBC News has gone left big-time, and there really isn't anybody over there who's a conservative thinker. It's pretty simple.

SCARBOROUGH: Well, we decided to bring our own expert in, psychotherapist Caryn Stark, to analyze Bill O'Reilly's body language and figure out what's behind his obsession with NBC. This is what we learned.

STARK [video clip]: He's making emphasis. He's screaming. And he starts flailing his hands around, and that's typical primate behavior that shows that “this is my territory; I'm protecting it.” What he's doing with his finger right now, if you want to freeze that for a second -- that's saying: “I'm making my point. I'm angry.” And that's rage. OK, you can continue.

Oh, I love that one. If you could freeze what he just did with his fingers and the way that he wiped them across his eyes? What he's telling you there is, “I'm clearing the plate. I'm really looking at this, but don't take me very seriously.” He obsesses about his points. He mentions liberal. You're going to see it again. There you go, over and over again. “I'm obsessed with this point about being a liberal and I'm going to let you know, and I'm going to use my fingers for emphasis, and I'm going to make a lot of noise and a lot of fury about nothing.” So, I don't think we have to pay too much attention to what he's doing because he's enjoying himself, and he's doing a lot of, “here's my territory, and I'm going to protect it.”

SCARBOROUGH: You know, this is all so new to me -- very enlightening. So, why is Bill O'Reilly obsessed with NBC and the peacock, and where will this war lead? Here now, John Fund, he is a columnist for The Wall Street Journal, and MSNBC political analyst Craig Crawford. He's the author of the book, Attack the Messenger.

Craig, we have been seeing these Bill O'Reilly teases all day that he was going to look at Andrea Mitchell's body language and prove that we're all liberals. What, my friend, is behind Bill O'Reilly's obsession with NBC? Why are we the latest enemy on the Factor's list?

CRAWFORD: You know, this guy, he's like the Evil Knievel of TV news. I mean, he's based everything on stunts, you know, and once you do that, you got to have a new stunt every night. So, I guess we'll have Ouija boards next. I mean, look, this is an old formula for Bill O'Reilly -- is to take on a network -- he was after CBS for years, and CBS, I guess that got tired and so, now it's NBC. He's based a show on hating somebody. I mean, he's built an audience of people who want to hear that, and he delivers every night, and it's all about hate. It's like any other addiction, you know, you got to feed the habit.