FOX News Criticized for its Iraq War Coverage

FOX News criticized for its Iraq War coverage, that is the subject of this evening's "Talking Points Memo."

A group called the Project for Excellence in Journalism says that during the first three months of this year, FOX News had less coverage of Iraq than CNN and MSNBC.

That led CNN Chief Jonathan Klein to say, quote, "FOX News were obviously cheerleaders for the war. When the war went badly, they had to dial back coverage because it didn't fit their preconceived story lines."

Wow, that sounds bad, doesn't it? Now I can't speak for FOX News, only "The Factor." And here's the deal. In the beginning, I supported the war based upon the best available intelligence. I was on the same page as Hillary Clinton and John Edwards, and just about everybody else.

When it became clear that many Iraqis would rather kill each other than fight for their freedom, I told you that. All the while rooting for the U.S. military to win the conflict, despite the Iraqi madness.

That's right, as a commentator, I am rooting for the Americans and British to win, because a victory is better for the USA and the world.

Now we've done hundreds of Iraq reports on this program, as you know. But we don't do the carnage du jour. We don't highlight every terrorist attack because we learn nothing from that. And that's exactly what the terrorists want us to do. I mean, come on, does another bombing in Tikrit mean anything other than war is hell? No, it does not.

In my opinion, CNN, and especially MSNBC, delight in showing Iraqi violence because they want Americans to think badly of President Bush. And that strategy has succeeded.

So their Iraqi coverage is more political than informational, again in my opinion. Could be wrong about CNN. I'm not wrong about the committed left wing crew over at NBC.

Finally, just who are these Project for Excellence in Journalism people? Well, their spokesman is a guy named Mark Jerkowitz, a former TV writer for the far left Boston Globe and the off the chart left Boston Phoenix.

Now I've known Mr. Jerkowitz for many years. He hates FOX News and is a committed leftist. So much for journalistic excellence.

Now when theAssociated Press picked up the study, it didn't identify Jerkowitz as a FOX hater. And it should have.

The bottom line is this. We've reported time and again that the war in Iraq is indeed a mess. There's little news value in broadcasting daily bombings. By the way, FOX News continues to crush CNN and MSNBC in the ratings, as the folks know news when they see it. And that's the "Memo."

Most Ridiculous Item

Time now for "The Most Ridiculous Item of the Day."

I have to apologize to Steve Doocy. The pain of it all. Last night I said Martha MacCallum beat him in the "Culture Quiz." As many viewers pointed out, she did not. It was a tie.

So Doocy was wronged, and I am responsible. Not good.

On another subject of interest, this appeared on CBSNews.com, quote, "Reasons to Be Depressed: More people agree that Bill O'Reilly is a better source of political information than ABC News, according to a JWT survey conducted on behalf of Adweek magazine."

One hint over there at you CBS guys. You people have a lot more reason to be depressed than worrying about us, if you know what I mean, and I think you do. It might be ridiculous.

—You can catch Bill O'Reilly's "Talking Points Memo" and "Most Ridiculous Item" weeknights at 8 and 11 p.m. ET on the FOX News Channel and any time on foxnews.com/oreilly. Send your comments to: oreilly@foxnews.com