Another False Attack By Media Matters
A May 12, 2006, post by Media Matters falsely claimed that Bill O’Reilly compared Al Franken and others to a DJ who threatened a 4-year old with "an R. Kelly."
Of course, O’Reilly did no such thing. Here is another classic case in which Media Matters hopes that you don’t do your own research and learn the truth.
On his May 10, 2006, episode of his radio show, Bill O’Reilly reported the case of a New York City radio DJ who threatened the 4-year-old daughter of a competitor with "an R. Kelly." Bill used this episode to expound on the vulgar tone in the American media today.
After explaining that the DJ was finally arrested, O’Reilly clearly changed gears:
So, this, ladies and gentlemen, is a — a very troubling aspect of American society — extremely troubling. It started on the Internet where you have a bunch of people there who assassinate people; say vile things about people; threaten people every single day …
You got a couple of people on cable news programs that do this every night of the week, and the big companies that employ them are the companies that should be held accountable. OK.
Now, if you are a famous person at all, you cannot sue. If you have any notoriety at all, if anybody knows your name, you can’t sue. And if you do sue, then you empower the person who’s attacking you. You see, you give them more publicity.
Quite simply, O’Reilly had ceased talking about the NYC DJ. He clearly and unequivocally switched angles by talking about the crude approach of hosts on cable TV. He talked about the lack of action a famous person can take if he’s attacked. He then referenced Al Franken on Air America.
O’Reilly clearly did not equate the NYC DJ and Al Franken. Media Matters has again disserviced its intended audience with a bogus post.
