Not everyone likes Media Matters for America, the left-wing media watchdog that seeks out “conservative misinformation” in the media. I do. Like the excellent ThinkProgress, there’s a wonderful, understated humor to a lot of Media Matters’ content. Both sites have a writing style that focuses on “just the facts.” That style can strip some of the color from colorful events. But some things are surreal, brilliant, and hilarious without any comment added. Take this, for example:
On the June 3 edition of Fox News’ The O’Reilly Factor, host Bill O’Reilly falsely claimed that on CNN, “[o]nly Anderson Cooper at 10 o’clock covered the story” of the slaying of Army recruiter Pvt. William Long. O’Reilly made the comments while comparing the coverage of Long’s killing and the slaying of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller.
In fact, in addition to the coverage on Anderson Cooper 360, the following CNN shows covered Long’s shooting on June 1 through June 3:
[BULLET] The 1 p.m. ET hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 2 p.m. hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 3 p.m. hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The June 1 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight
[BULLET] The June 1 edition of Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull.
[BULLET] The 6 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of American Morning.
[BULLET] The 9 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 10 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 11 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 1 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 2 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 6 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of The Situation Room.
[BULLET] The June 2 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight.
[BULLET] The 10 a.m. hour of the June 3 edition of CNN Newsroom.
[BULLET] The 1 p.m. hour of the June 3 edition of CNN Newsroom.
When O’Reilly stated, “CNN says look, we don’t do opinion. We do news. Only Anderson Cooper at 10 o’clock covered the story. Nobody else,” his guest, Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher magazine, replied, “You’re right.”
That’s just wonderful, and truly devastating.
