From the San Francisco Chronicle
Slaying prompts close look at incendiary speech
By Joe Garofoli
Three days after the killing of Kansas physician George Tiller, who performed late-term abortions, Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly referred to Tiller the same way he had for years: "Dr. Killer." As in "Tiller the baby killer."...
The comments have sparked outrage from experts in ethics and hate speech who say the TV show host's use of such strong words may have played a role in Tiller's slaying last Sunday....
Still, even if the speaker is a media personality working a shtick, "there is a moral responsibility when people like O'Reilly crank up the anger and indignation in order to sell soap," said Geoffrey Nunberg, a UC Berkeley linguist and author of "The Years of Talking Dangerously."
"Let's face it," he said. "There is a business model built on people getting to watch."