On Tuesday, MSNBC's Keith Olbermann said Fox News is "serving propaganda to tin foil hatters, conspiracy theorists, paranoids and racists."
On Wednesday, Fox's Bill O'Reilly struck back.
Speaking during his "Pinheads & Patriots" segment during Wednesday's "O'Reilly Factor," the leading voice on cable news once again went after NBC (video and partial transcript embedded below the fold, h/t TVNewser):
BILL O'REILLY, HOST: On the pinhead front, a media story worth watching. The National Broadcasting Corporation, NBC, is on the verge of collapse. If Jay Leno fails at 10 p.m. this fall, the entire NBC operation will be doomed for yet another year.
NBC president Jeff Zucker has ruined that once-fine company, and now desperation is setting in. Not only is the NBC network in last place, but their cable operations are a disaster. CNBC is down 23 percent this August, year to year. MSNBC down 25 percent.
Incredibly, NBC continues to lie about their ratings, saying that MSNBC is actually prospering.
Here's the truth. Megyn Kelly and Bill Hemmer at FOX News at 9 a.m. in the morning beat MSNBC's 8 p.m. hour by a whopping 37 percent. I mean, how embarrassing is that?
Last night on MSNBC, someone said the people -- you guys -- who watch FOX News are paranoid and racist. That should tell you everything you need to know about the entire NBC situation. Pinhead doesn't begin to cover it.
No, it doesn't.