MSNBC Largely Silent On Bill O’Reilly War Reporting Controversy

NEW YORK — On Tuesday night, MSNBC host Rachel Maddow slammed Bill O’Reilly for threatening journalists who are investigating charges that the Fox News host exaggerated claims about his reporting on the Falklands War.

Maddow’s nearly four-minute segment was the type of coverage one might expect from MSNBC. In recent years, the network has positioned itself as the liberal alternative to the top-rated Fox News, a trajectory that began with former host Keith Olbermann’s broadsides against both the George W. Bush administration and Fox’s conservative hosts.

MSNBC hosts continue to regularly call out Fox News stars, including O’Reilly. On Feb 18, the day before reports of O’Reilly’s exaggerated claims surfaced, “All In” host Chris Hayes took O’Reilly to task for declaring that there is a “holy war” going on against Islamic State fighters, arguing that such rhetoric is “exactly what ISIS wants.”

Most of MSNBC’s mentions of Williams were brief and linked to specific events, like the anchor taking himself off air and later being suspended by the network. However, the network did have the late New York Times media columnist David Carr on during primetime to discuss the Williams situation.

MSNBC’s lack of attention to the O’Reilly controversy is especially notable as the network continues its shift away from personality-driven daytime shows toward a greater emphasis on news. While MSNBC isn’t abandoning its liberal perspective, it is looking to broaden its focus beyond politics, and it remains to be seen whether partisan fights between cable news networks will continue to get as much coverage on MSNBC in the future.

Disclosure: Jackson Connor is a former employee of MSNBC.

The Huffington Post