Guest: Howard Kurtz, Washington Post
"American troops are aggressively seeking out terrorists in Iraq right now. A good outcome in Iraq might be impossible, however, because many Iraqis are not helping coalition forces. So if the Iraqis don't wise up soon, U.S. forces will pull back. So now you're up to date on Iraq, and I didn't have to show you any terror bombings to make my points. The liberal press has made a big deal out of the fact that Fox News devotes less time to Iraq than our competitors at CNN and MSNBC. Talking Points asserts that showing pictures of terrorist activity purely for the visual helps the terrorists and doesn't advance the Iraq story. But some don't agree, including media reporter Howard Kurtz, who said this on CNN: 'It's certainly hard for me to imagine during World War II that we shouldn't cover every bombing in London because that's what the Germans want.' But what about President Roosevelt setting up the Office of War Information in 1942, which censored the results of enemy action and American casualties? Roosevelt did that to prevent the erosion of morale here in America. We don't censor the news on The Factor, but we don't help the terrorists, either. And that separates us from some in the anti-war press."
CNN and Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz joined
The Factor to defend his criticism of Fox News. "I don't think we should show every bombing just for the visuals," Kurtz explained, "but the bombings do mean something to the soldiers who are killed and their families. Reporting that tries puts this into context gives us a scorecard as to how the war is going. I think you should take a better look at what some of your competitors are doing."
The Factor reiterated that some media outlets seem far too eager to highlight carnage. "I've got a problem with the constant showing of terror activity for no other reason than showing it. The terrorist strategy is to blow something up every day to wear down the American population, and it's working. There is a lot of coverage about Iraq being done solely being done for political reasons, to make it look like a debacle."
News Link: Kurtz takes swipe at O'Reilly's Iraq coverage