Did Media Cover the ISG Report Fairly?

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," December 7, 2006, that has been edited for clarity.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST:O'REILLY: In the "Policing the Press" segment tonight, as I said in the "Talking Points Memo," many in the media are not reporting the news anymore. They're trying to shape opinion. That is, they use news stores to damage people they don't like and praise people they do, and that's dangerous.

Good example happened yesterday between Tony Snow and David Gregory. Mr. Gregory is NBC's White House correspondent. NBC News, as we mentioned, has turned sharply left. Mr. Gregory epitomizes this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS: Can this report be seen as anything other than a rejection of this president's handling of the war?

TONY SNOW, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Absolutely. And I think you need to read the report.

GREGORY: I have.

SNOW: You've read the whole report?

GREGORY: No, I've gone through it...

SNOW: I've read the whole report, and I will tell you, also, based on the conversations, based on the — well, if you listen to the chairman you will have noted that he's not trying to...

GREGORY: Tony...

SNOW: David, please. You get mad...

GREGORY: I've read the report. I'm just saying those are all quotes.

SNOW: I know. I know they're all quotes. And now I'm going to try to proceed to try to place them in context. You need to understand that trying to frame it in a partisan way is actually at odds with what the group itself says it wanted to do. And so, you may try to do whatever you want in terms of rejection. That's not the way they deal with it.

GREGORY: Are you suggesting that I'm trying to frame this in a partisan way?

SNOW: Yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'REILLY: With us now, our FOX News analysts Jane Hall in D.C. and Bernie Goldberg in Miami.

Now Bernie, when I was at CBS and you were at CBS, I used to watch your reports, as you got on the Rather program a lot more than I did, and you asked very tough questions. I mean, you're known for that.

Now, Gregory does the same, but Snow called him out yesterday. He called him out and he basically said, you are partisan, what you are tying to do is take a very serious report that is extremely important for all information, for all Americans to know about, and twist it into a Bush- bashing event. Was Snow right, and is Gregory doing that?

BERNIE GOLDBERG, FOX NEWS ANALYST: Well, let's just assume for arguments' sake that the questions are not just tough but tough and legitimate. Just for argument's sake.

What was rule No. 1 that we learned, you know, when we were at the network, Bill? You don't become the center of the story. And David Gregory way too often is becoming the center of the story.

I don't know if it's ideology. I mean, it may be. But I think there's another factor at work here. In the United States of entertainment, that kind of stuff works. That kind of stuff gets you invited on the Leno show. That kind of stuff gets you talked about in other places. And that's not some small factor.

I mean, you know, journalists in some cases are ideologues, but they're careerists first. And the kind of stuff he does is a good career move, and I think that's unfortunate.

O'REILLY: Then NBC News should make him an analyst like me and put somebody into the White House that's not doing what you say he's doing.

GOLDBERG: Right. I would wonder what — Tim Russert, I think, is a very, very good guy. I like him a lot. He's the bureau manager in Washington. I wonder if he's ever said, "David, look, it's not that your questions aren't legit. That's not what I'm talking about. But, you seem to like to mix it up with these guys, and you're becoming the story. And I need you to back off."

I don't know if he's ever said that, and I'm not going to sit here and give Tim Russert advice, but that's the advice I'd give David.

O'REILLY: All right. What do you think, Jane?

JANE HALL, FOX NEWS ANALYST: I would disagree with your characterization that NBC has turned a sharp left. I mean, Gregory's reporting is tough, and it's fair. Russert was completely even handed last night. Brian Williams was even-handed about this.

And I mean, the Wall Street Journal calls this a searing critique.

I have to say, I could live without the "do you still beat your wife" framing of the question. I mean, Tony Snow is never going to say, "Yes, we consider it a rebuke to everything we stand for."

I disagree with the question, but I think to try to read into it anything other than maybe he is mixing it up in the press conference and maybe that's the question.

O'REILLY: I want to get this on the record. You don't think NBC News has turn to the left?

HALL: I do not. You...

O'REILLY: Apparently, you're not watching the cable outlets at all.

HALL: No. You...

O'REILLY: And apparently, you're not watching almost every one of those, the way they phrase — look...

HALL: Wait, wait, wait. Wait. Wait a minute, wait a minute.

O'REILLY: Hold it, Jane. Jane — Jane, I'm going to give you an example.

HALL: ... "NBC Nightly News", which is what you were talking about.

O'REILLY: Yes, and I'll give you an example from there. OK? The other two news agencies, ABC and CBS, frame the thing as a tough report. All right. NBC went in and said brutal on the Bush administration. The emphasis was shifting from what the report's recommendations were into Bush is an idiot.

Come on, Jane, you got to each your eyes and see what's going on over there.

HALL: No, wait. Let me — I disagree with trying to frame it as whether Bush has been rebuked. But that is in the report. It's valid to ask it — you wait, let me message...

O'REILLY: It's not in the report. It's not in the report one time.

HALL: The New York Times had a front page peace with military analysts questioning it. Then ABC had a piece with soldiers questioning whether they would be safe if we take these recommendations. You only cherry pick one thing and then try to generalize it.

O'REILLY: I'm not cherry picking. I'm telling you that well, look, if you don't believe it, I can't force you to. I know what's going on over there. I watch them. I see their transcripts. No question about it.

Now, Bernie, we have a problem here in America, is that people don't want to hear about Iraq. Last night, for example, our lowest quarter hour, we dominated as always on cable news, but our lowest quarter hour was about the Iraq report. And our highest quarter hour was about Mary Cheney's pregnancy and Britney Spears self-destructing. Don't want to hear about it.

So what does the news media do to get Americans interested in something that may come to their doorstep some day?

GOLDBERG: Well, you know, I did say it's the United States of entertainment. So Britney Spears is going to trump people dying in Iraq every day of the week. If 9/11, Bill, 9/11 didn't captivate the imagination of the American people and get them to focus their attention, what will?

O'REILLY: I don't know. Another 9/11, I guess, is going to have to happen, because I'm getting worried when 82 percent of people, Jane, don't know who the Maliki is, 82 percent of Americans. We've got a problem.

HALL: I think a lot of people — I mean, how many copies of this report were downloaded? Something like 400,000? I mean, people are interested. I think it's a great sorrowful story, and they don't know and don't see the way out.

O'REILLY: All right, 300 million people in the country, Jane, and you're never going to agree with me on anything.

HALL: On some things I will.

O'REILLY: Then I'll scold you.

Jane, Bernie, thanks very much.

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