NewsBusters reported Monday that a new Pew Research Center study determined that 85 percent of MSNBC's airtime is commentary or opinion and not straight news.
Syndicated columnist Charles Krauthammer said of this on Fox News's O'Reilly Factor Tuesday, "That study tells me that the sun rises in the East: everybody knows that MSNBC is all opinion" (video follows with transcript and commentary):
BILL O’REILLY: MSNBC 85 percent opinion now, 15 percent reporting. That must be about 4:00 AM because I miss it. Fox News 55 percent opinion, 45 percent reporting. That's about right. CNN 46 percent opinion, 54 percent reporting. That’s I think accurate as well. Joining us now from Washington, Charles Krauthammer. What does this study say to you, Charles?
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: That study tells me that the sun rises in the East: everybody knows that MSNBC is all opinion. Even the slogan “Lean Forward” is just a way of saying lean left. Those short ads they do just announce that they’re now basically an ideological entity, and I think what they have on CNN and Fox is basically right: roughly half news and half opinion.
O’REILLY: Yeah, but the perception is that Fox is all opinion and a Republican-driven network. But this study shows that, you know, 45 percent, that's almost 50/50.
KRAUTHAMMER: Well, people want to believe that because Fox has such influence, so they have to say that it's nothing except opinion. But, in fact, it's not. You just watch it for one day, you see the Baier show, 6:00 evening news. It’s the best news on television network or cable. And that's where I would go to receive my news even if I weren't here.
O’REILLY: That's because you’re on that show, and you’re an objective person…
KRAUTHAMMER: Even my mother would watch it if I weren't on.
I rarely do this in public, but I don't agree with Charles. Not everyone knows that MSNBC is all opinion.
If the folks at NBC felt that, MSNBC hosts such as Chris Matthews and Rachel Maddow wouldn't be allowed to go on NBC News programs to discuss anything.
But that's not the case. In fact, both of them are often on Meet the Press.
That said, one has to hope that these Pew findings will wake some of the folks at NBC up, but I wouldn't hold my breath.
