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| All content taken from The O'Reilly Factor on Fox News Channel. Each weeknight by 6 PM EST a preview of that evening's show will be posted and then updated with additional information the following weekday by noon EST.
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"Many of the Founding Fathers despised the press, yet they granted us more privileges than other citizens because they wanted independent, fair-minded eyes on the government. But now the press is largely corrupt. Newspapers are dying because of the 'net and ideological craziness, and TV news is generally more interested in making money than in taking the risks necessary to deliver important information to you. An example: In early March there were many reports out of Sacramento of a 'homeless camp' with hundreds of people damaged by the recession. But guess what? The story is bogus - the Economist magazine reported that 'the tent city had actually been around for close to a decade.' It took a British magazine to tell the truth about a false story generated by the U.S. media. One final note: The insidious NBC News operation has taken out ads urging advertisers to buy time on their failing cable operations. Their tag line is 'buy into the momentum.' Sure! Since October in prime time, NBC is down more than 50%, they've lost half their total audience. 'Buy into the catastrophe' is more like it."
The Factor invited FNC's Juan Williams and Mary Katharine Ham to survey the current media landscape. "Sometimes you get these hyped stories for economic reasons," Ham said. "For average people it means you have to take control of where you're getting information. Despite the fact that the press is failing in many ways, there are far more outlets than there used to be." Williams complained that the mainstream media has become a virtual branch of the Obama administration. "When you look at the TV networks and their coverage of Barack Obama, especially NBC, 61% of the time the coverage is positive. And if you go to the New York Times, which is supposed to hold power accountable, 73% of the time they're saying only positive things about the administration. So where are the watchdogs?" The Factor answered Williams' rhetorical question by suggesting that "the watchdogs have been neutered." |
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| The Factor asked attorney and Fox News anchor Megyn Kelly about a report that members of the Obama team strong-armed an investment bank into accepting tough terms on the Chrysler bankruptcy. "A big-time lawyer has come out," Kelly reported, "and said the Obama administration directly threatened his client, saying they would subject it to the full force of the White House press corps that would destroy its reputation." Kelly turned to former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, another Democrat facing accusations. "Richardson's aides are being investigated for a pay-to-play situation like Rod Blagojevich in Illinois. The allegation is that campaign contributions were given in return for government contracts." |
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| Comedy Central's Jon Stewart has apologized for calling President Truman a war criminal, but the debate over the rules of warfare continues. The Factor debated the issue with FNC analyst Ellis Henican, a staunch opponent of harsh interrogation. "I would not use the term 'war criminal' for Truman," Hennican began, "I would say using atomic bombs was a deeply troubling moral decision and any decent person would be morally wracked by it." Moving to the present, The Factor posed this question: "Barack Obama says no cold rooms, no waterboarding, but at the same time he is bombing villages in Pakistan where women and children are being blown to pieces. Can you explain that to me?" Henican's response: "In one case there are people in our captivity and we have responsibility for how we treat them. We have a different calculation on the battlefield and how we treat the collateral damage of war. I would make the same calculation Harry Truman made - what is going to cost more lives?" The Factor found that rationalization troubling: "You made an argument for dropping bombs on villages, but you won't waterboard a guy who knows about a heinous plot." |
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| Some advertisers are employing "hot moms" like Valerie Bertinelli and Marie Osmond to display their newly-svelte bodies. The Factor was joined by author Marc Rudov, who complained about the trend. "Why do we care about this," Rudov pondered. "If divorced fathers behaved like this they would never get custody of their children. Women can run around naked as far as I care, but why are we making a story out of this?" Radio host Tammy Bruce had a far different perspective. "We're living in an image-based society and there's a big difference between what Valerie Bertinelli is doing, which is inspiring other women, versus a woman being used as an object. This is about context, and it's incredibly empowering to inspire women to get healthy." The Factor worried about the message being sent to young women: "Teenage girls think they have to look like Jennifer Anniston and they starve themselves." |
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| 25-year-old Megan McAllister seems to be supporting her boyfriend Philip Markoff, the man alleged to be the "Craigslist killer." The Factor asked Culture Warriors Margaret Hoover and Gretchen Carlson whether McAllister is acting improperly. "Absolutely not," Carlson declared. "If you're in love with somebody and you're going to marry them, are you going to overnight say yes, I believe he's a killer? She feels a need to defend herself and this relationship." Hoover argued that the young woman is obviously in denial. "Clearly good people get duped, and this is a very young woman who is in love with a man who is allegedly a killer. When you see video of your fianc?e walking away from a crime scene, it's time to look at the facts. She heeds to step back and let the police do their job." |
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| A guest on NBC News' cable outlet viciously attacked Miss California because she supports traditional marriage. The Factor's Check: "The NBC brand takes another huge hit. As we've reported, NBC president Jeff Zucker and GE CEO Jeffrey Immelt are directly responsible for the hate on display daily." Meanwhile, GE has purchased $1 million worth of ad time on Fox News to promote its "green" initiative. The Factor's Check: "The buy was accepted for two reasons. First, we believe in capitalism - the more revenue Fox News derives, the more resources we have to get information to you. Second, we believe in free speech. GE should be able to have their say and we'll continue to have ours. We did offer Mr. Immelt free air time, but if he prefers to buy it, fine with us!" |
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| Monday's Patriots: Sting, who will headline a concert to benefit 10-year old Christopher Rodriguez, who was paralyzed when hit by a stray bullet, and the late Jack Kemp. And the Pinhead: Actress Denise Richards, who badly butchered "Take Me Out To The Ball Game" at Wrigley Field in Chicago. |
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Robert Drake, Sierra Vista, AZ: "Bill, the Beck segment was in poor taste. Asking him about his investments. Give him a break!"
Jessie Chu, Chico, CA: "Mr. O, you and Beck are like a couple of frat boys."
Victoria Hladky, Overland Park, KS: "Bill, I finally figured it out. You are jealous of Glenn Beck."
Mary Wright, Boulder, CO: "Glenn should refuse to appear on the Factor." |
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