As educated viewers, you guys know the Founding Fathers gave the press special privileges. They did that so reporters could keep an eye on powerful politicians and other people who might cause harm to the folks. I just wish the press was half as responsible as the men who forged this nation. A poll by Gallup says only 40% of Americans trust the mass media, down from 54% in 2003. The reason many Americans hold the press in contempt is two-fold. First, ideology. It is perfectly fine for commentators like me to give my opinion about events. That's what I'm paid to do and The Factor is clearly an opinion program. But when hard news people deceive their viewers and readers to advance a political agenda, that's when the nation gets hurt. Enter Brian Williams, the anchorman for the NBC Nightly News. Mr. Williams was successful, beating out ABC and CBS. But now we know that he exaggerated certain stories, and NBC had to suspend him for six months. It wasn't just the Iraq helicopter story. Mr. Williams apparently misreported other situations as well. For example, NBC News won a Peabody Award for its coverage of Hurricane Katrina and Mr. Williams was a big part of that. Yesterday I talked with Washington Post reporter Terrence McCoy, who said this: 'The manager of the hotel said there were no gangs in her hotel.' So combining that with the Iraq deal, Williams had to go. But NBC News has other problems as well. One of their foreign correspondents, Ayman Mohyeldin, described 'American Sniper' Chris Kyle as someone who had 'racist tendencies' and went on 'killing sprees in Iraq.' A group of military people is demanding that Mr. Mohyeldin apologize, and he should. Every news organization makes mistakes, but those mistakes are eroding the confidence of Americans in the press. I get the New York Times every morning. That paper has tremendous resources, but over the years it has become a left-wing enterprise and that has crept into its news coverage. It is now my belief that Brian Williams will not return as the main anchor on NBC. If you can't trust a news anchor or commentator, you're not going to watch that person. NBC News made $200 million dollars in 2013 on the Nightly News. That was $30 million more than ABC, $50 million more than CBS. So obviously NBC did not want Williams off the air, but they had to. Reporting the news comes with a big responsibility. Here on The Factor we are in our 19th season, an amazing run, and we have made some mistakes, but very few. We put together an honest broadcast and we take great pains to present you with information that can be verified. All Americans who love their country should think about what happened to Brian Williams and about other news agencies that are distorting the facts. We all should open that proverbial 'Network' window and say, 'We're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore!'"

Guests:David Zurawik & Lee Kamlet
The Factor followed up on the Williams story with media critics David Zurawik and Lee Kamlet. "The press does get special privileges," Zurawik said, "but with that comes responsibilities, and we've really fallen down. I thought Brian Williams should have been stripped of his managing editor title. How can he hold that position and be a self-acknowledged liar?" Kamlet also questioned the common practice of having network anchors serve as managing editors. "Whenever you vest that much power in one person it's problematic. It makes it harder for people who work around them to challenge them on some of their reporting."

Guests:Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer & Col. David Hunt
Military analysts Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer and Col. David Hunt reported the latest on the investigation into suspected deserter Bowe Bergdahl, who was traded for five Taliban commanders. "We're looking at a mid-March decision and announcement," Shaffer predicted. "The president and the administration knew exactly about Bowe Bergdahl's status before the deal with the Taliban. The Army is trying to be honest, but all the pressure is coming from the White House." Hunt expressed confidence in General Mark Milley, who is in charge of the investigation. "This is a 4-star general and a combat veteran who has to decide whether there will be a court martial or not. But it is inexplicable that it's taking this long." The Factor concluded, "It looks to me like they're trying to sell this to the American public without damaging President Obama."

Guest:Dr. Ben Carson
As The Factor reported Tuesday, the Southern Poverty Law Center has labeled neurosurgeon and Republican presidential prospect Dr. Ben Carson an extremist because of his opposition to same-sex marriage. Carson himself entered the No Spin Zone to respond. "Any two adults can have any kind of relationship they want," he said, "but I do believe that a family where there is a mother and a father and a loving environment is the best way to raise children. We need to get back to a place where people feel free to express themselves without being intimidated by political correctness." The Factor happily informed Carson that his hazard level has been downgraded: "Right before air time we got a letter from the Southern Poverty Law Center saying you are no longer an extremist, you are off the list."

Guest:Dennis Miller
Dennis Miller weighed in on the Brian Williams brouhaha. "I don't know Brian from Adam," Miller said, "unless today he's claiming that he's Adam. But why would he want to come back from this? I think he should take over for Jon Stewart, he seems to like to do comedy. The great thing about Brian is that that he built up a strong bench as managing editor, and I think they should bring up Ed Schultz to anchor. The slogan could be, 'Schultz happens.'" Miller also opined on the bizarre interview in which MSNBC's Melissa Harris-Perry invited Attorney General Eric Holder to "quack" for her. "She calls him a duck and he calls her an exquisite waste of a hyphen. I don't understand the world at all anymore - it's the funhouse mirror and we have fallen through it."

Guest:Martha MacCallum
FNC's Martha MacCallum analyzed Jon Stewart's impending departure from The Daily Show. "There has been a lot of breast-beating over his announcement," she observed, "but his numbers are not really that strong. There are about 1.2-million viewers a night, which is down 16% from a year ago. And when you look into his foray into the movies with his film 'Rosewater,' it didn't make much money at the box office. But obviously he will be missed - there is a whole generation of college students who grew up seeing him as the arbiter of good taste in news."

Bill Hronek, Naples, FL: "I thought Kirsten Powers was very insensitive to four Americans brutally murdered by ISIS, and to suggest that Americans have forgotten about the 4,000 soldiers killed in Iraq is simply not true."

Priscilla Lockney, Lancaster, MA: "O'Reilly, thank you and Gary Sinese so much for all you do for our wounded veterans. You're stand-up guys."

Stan Edwards, Graham, TX: "Bill, you told Gary Sinese that he is going to Heaven for his good works. That statement demonstrates a lack of understanding of how to get to Heaven."

The smartest guy in Hollywood may well be Clint Eastwood, who lets criticism of his movie "American Sniper" roll off him, with apologies to Melissa Harris-Perry, like water off a duck's back.