All About Laurie Dhue

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," March 20, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!"

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: In the "Back of the Book" segment tonight: The FOX News Channel continues to dominate the world of cable news. And one of the reasons we are so successful is because we have a bunch of top-notch female correspondents. So we thought you might like to know a bit about some of them.

Tonight we begin with Laurie Dhue who used to read the news cut-ins on “The Factor” but has been demoted. She's now working for "Geraldo at Large." There she is.

LAURIE DHUE, CORRESPONDENT, "GERALDO AT LARGE": I can't even believe I dared to enter the "No Spin Zone."

O'REILLY: We do get letters, "What happened to Ms. Dhue?" And you're on the syndicated program which, you know, in each city plays at different times.

DHUE: Right.

O'REILLY: People are at work. They don't know what you're doing. What I'm interested in is you're at the University of North Carolina, right? OK?

DHUE: Just a few years ago.

O'REILLY: You knew you wanted to be a television newscaster then?

DHUE: I knew, I think, from the time I was 4 or 5 what I wanted to do. And if you ask my parents, they used to catch me — oh, no. They used to catch me talking in the mirror to myself when I was 4 or 5 years old.

O'REILLY: OK. So you knew very early on you wanted to be a newscaster?

DHUE: Well, I knew I was going to be a performer of some sort. And I think there's obviously...

O'REILLY: But did you have a journalism yen or was it just to be in front of the camera?

DHUE: You know what? I'll tell you. And now we're looking at an attractive picture of my high school senior year. Oh, dear.

I had my first internship with CNN in 1988 during the Democratic National Convention. That's while I was a student at UNC. And I was a booth runner. I met Larry King, Walter Cronkite, a lot of big names. And I was hooked from that moment. I knew I wanted to be on TV. And a few short years later it happened at CNN.

O'REILLY: OK, so you got an internship with CNN, which is close to your home in Georgia. And you've got experience. This is a good career. So how did you make the career happen? How do you get the first job?

DHUE: Well, I had several internships then a week after the Gulf War started back in 1991, I just graduated from the University of North Carolina. I started working there. It was a very exciting time to work there.

O'REILLY: So they hired you?

DHUE: They did.

O'REILLY: Because you did well as an intern.

DHUE: Exactly. I worked very hard during my internships. I knew I wanted to be at CNN. And actually, about five-and-a-half years later, the then-president of CNN, Tom Johnson, decided to take a chance on me and put me on the air. And I was one of the youngest people they ever...

O'REILLY: You had never been on the air before.

DHUE: No.

O'REILLY: So you were doing behind-the-scenes work?

DHUE: Yes. I was a producer. I was a booker. I was a writer. I had done every job in that building.

O'REILLY: And then they just said, "Well, Dhue is attractive. We're going to put her on the air. She knows what she's talking about." And were you nervous? I mean, you must have been nervous to get on there.

DHUE: Well, I was attractive, but I was also smart and I worked hard. And so I...

O'REILLY: That's what I said. We can say it another time.

DHUE: All right, all right.

O'REILLY: All right. So then you...

DHUE: It's not just a pretty thing, though. That's important.

O'REILLY: No, I understand. But look, let's be honest. It doesn't hurt to be good looking on camera in this industry.

DHUE: No, it doesn't hurt. No.

O'REILLY: OK, so we've got to be honest. So then you go from CNN to MSNBC to FOX.

DHUE: Right.

O'REILLY: And that's the trail that most people — you know, you have to move around in this business, right?

DHUE: Right.

O'REILLY: Ultimately, you want to do what?

DHUE: Well, right now I'm really enjoying working with Geraldo.

O'REILLY: You have to say that.

DHUE: No, no. I mean it.

O'REILLY: He paid you money. I saw the transaction.

DHUE: Not at all, you know? And I feel very fortunate, having worked for you on your show, and now working for Geraldo.

O'REILLY: That was your big break, right there.

DHUE: Well, it probably was my big break.

O'REILLY: Right, right.

DHUE: And I appreciate it, Bill. I will always tell you that I thank you for that.

O'REILLY: OK. But what do you ultimately want to do?

DHUE: Well, right now I want to continue working on "Geraldo at Large". And I'd love my own show someday. I think anyone who's in the business would love their own "O'Reilly Factor" or love their own...

O'REILLY: "The Dhue Factor"? Are you going to be mean? Can you be mean?

DHUE: Oh, Bill, I can be real mean.

O'REILLY: OK, so you want to do "The Dhue Factor" someday when I retire.

DHUE: I'm not sure I'd call it "The Dhue Factor", because you've already got it. You've got a lock on that.

O'REILLY: We could do — with Dhue, you can do a lot of Dhue — you know.

DHUE: Yes.

O'REILLY: A whole lot of places.

All right. Laurie Dhue, everyone. She wasn't fired.

DHUE: No.

O'REILLY: She's working for Geraldo. And it's a pleasant experience, as Geraldo gave her $50 before she came on the show.

DHUE: And check your local listings for the show, everybody. It's a great show.

O'REILLY: Good. You're doing very well, and thank you for coming on and speaking with us tonight.

DHUE: It was a pleasure, Bill. Thank you.

Content and Programming Copyright 2006 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2006 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com ), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon Fox News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.