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Bill will continue this discussion tonight. From Tuesday and Wednesday on the Factor:

Talking Points Memo
Disrespecting the American military

"Last night our lead story was the Medal of Honor awarded to Navy Lt. Michael Murphy, who was killed in Afghanistan trying to save his unit. Lt. Murphy's bravery is truly an incredible saga, so why did CNN and MSNBC fail to report the story in prime time last night? CBS News gave Lt. Murphy more than three minutes, ABC more than two minutes. But apparently Lt. Murphy was not ready for prime time on our cable competition. The hard truth is that MSNBC and CNN are not going to report stories that reflect well on the American military because they despise the Bush administration and believe anything positive detracts from their negative assessment. And it is ideology that is driving those people, not an effective business plan. Here's the proof: over the first three weeks of October, Fox News Channel has doubled CNN and tripled MSNBC in the ratings. At 8 PM, The Factor beats those two combined, with about a million viewers to spare. So ignoring great stories like Lt. Murphy can't be based on news value or business. I don't want to hear CNN or MSNBC say they 'support the troops.' CNN and NBC News can't get enough of negative war zone stories, but on their prime time broadcasts last night, CNN and MSNBC said 'no' to Lt. Michael Murphy and his proud family. There is no excuse."

Anti-American media continues to spread

As reported previously, the heroism of Medal of Honor winner Lt. Michael Murphy was ignored by many in the media. And that was not an isolated incident - The Factor welcomed Ginger Gilbert, whose husband Troy was killed when his plane crashed in Iraq. After Al Qaeda videotaped his remains and supplied the footage to Al Jazeera, American media outlets reported only that part of the story. "It was heartbreaking and frustrating," Gilbert lamented, "that this was the way they choose to show my husband, who was an American hero. There was never a mention about the 22 lives he saved on the ground or his focus on the safety of Iraqi civilians. We fed right into the terrorists' hands by putting it on the news, and yours is the only show that has reached out to me." The Factor again accused many of flat-out dishonesty. "Most of the media are against the Iraq war and despise the Bush administration, so they're going to spin negative news all day long to further their political agenda. The reality is that politics is trumping the war effort."

I do not always agree with Bill, but he deserves strong praise on this story and a several others such as those dealing with out of control judges and crimes against children.

Will anyone else other than Bill O’Reilly cover Lt. Murphy this evening or weekend?