Fox News host Bill O’Reilly sat down with Media Buzz host Howard Kurtz for an interview that aired on Sunday morning had some harsh words for the liberal media, specifically MSNBC.
When asked about MSNBC’s coverage of Leon Panetta’s criticism of President Obama, O’Reilly mocked the “Lean Forward” network and argued, “they basically said, oh, every administration has people who disagree. And, you know, I it was -- it was humorous. But let's be honest, MSNBC's ratings cannot really get much lower.”
The interview began with O’Reilly slamming the media for not aggressively going after President Obama:
The press is not in business anymore to give the folks information. That's not what they do. They are in business to promote a certain agenda. And that’s really harming the nation. That's the point I was trying to make.
The Fox News host then criticized the media for failing to live up to the Founding Fathers’ goals:
The press's role in America is very clear. What the Founding Fathers wanted gave us constitutional protections to keep an eye on all the powerful people, not to pick and choose who they want to get, all right? And that certainly hasn't been done, I'd say, in the last decade.
When the topic of conversation turned to MSNBC, O’Reilly was even less forgiving and called them out for failing to even be a real news organization:
They're scratching which means no one is watching them during the day and very few at night. It's not a news organization. Alright? It's a cable channel that promotes left wing causes, not a news organization.
O’Reilly concluded by suggesting NBC News should pull the plug on MSNBC due to its consistently bad ratings:
What I am amazed at is that NBC just doesn't pull the plug. I mean, once you fall behind CNN, which they have, where is there to go on this thing? They're not going to be successful. They've been on the air 18 years. It's not going happen. Alright? So why doesn't NBC, with all its power and resources, use that cable network for something different and better? It's just amazing to me.
See relevant transcript below.
Fox News
Media Buzz
October 12, 2014
HOWARD KURTZ: Bill O’Reilly, welcome.
BILL O’REILLY: Thank you.
KURTZ: I finally got you to admit last week that the press is now covering President Obama aggressively. But you said, oh their hearts aren't in it. If they're not high-fiving each other, it doesn't count?
O’REILLY: Does it count? I guess it counts that we're actually getting the news reported after six years. That's an improvement. But what I meant was that they're -- the press is not in business anymore to give the folks information. That's not what they do. They are in business to promote a certain agenda. And that’s really harming the nation. That's the point I was trying to make.
KURTZ: Wait a second. If journalists are digging into the secret service, the VA, problems with ObamaCare, how is that pushing an agenda? Isn't that old fashioned roaring?
O’REILLY: Well, I mean if you look at Sharyl Attkisson's experience at CBS News, which I think is the best of them these days on the networks, she couldn't get her stories on the air.
KURTZ: That's true.
O’REILLY: And she had to leave that organization. So now they’re playing a little catch up because the polls say President Obama is in disfavor. Yeah, they are.
KURTZ: It's easier because the president is down in the polls.
O’REILLY: Easier for them.
KURTZ: For the press to pile on and for news organizations to green light these stories you’re saying?
O’REILLY: Yeah. The press's role in America is very clear. What the Founding Fathers wanted gave us constitutional protections to keep an eye on all the powerful people, not to pick and choose who they want to get, all right? And that certainly hasn't been done, I'd say, in the last decade.
KURTZ: What do you think of these liberals at MSNBC who were all over George Bush's war and now seem to be falling in line behind Obama's war?
O’REILLY: Well, it was interesting to see after my interview with Leon Panetta how they spun that over there. They basically said, oh, every administration has people who disagree. And, you know, I it was -- it was humorous. But let's be honest, MSNBC's ratings cannot really get much lower. They're scratching which means no one is watching them during the day and very few at night. It's not a news organization. Alright?
It's a cable channel that promotes left wing causes, not a news organization. What I am amazed at is that NBC just doesn't pull the plug. I mea, once you fall behind CNN, which they have, where is there to go on this thing? They're not going to be successful. They've been on the air 18 years. It's not going happen. Alright? So why doesn't NBC, with all its power and resources, use that cable network for something different and better? It's just amazing to me.
