The real O'Reilly Factor: Distortion to make point

By JAMES T. CAMPBELL

The former president of the American Civil Liberties Union's Virginia chapter was arrested recently and charged with receiving and possessing child pornography. So, WWBO do?
He would draw an apples to kiwi fruit comparison to make a point about the "left-wing media." The "he" is Bill O'Reilly, the ostentatious host of FoxNews' The O'Reilly Factor. In his Talking Points commentary last week, O'Reilly, in his inimitable way, attempted to contrast the news media's coverage of a sin on the left with one on the right. In the commentary headlined "Covering the news the left-wing way," O'Reilly blasted the media for not covering the arrest of former ACLU official Charles Rust-Tierney with the same vigor as it did in the case of Ted Haggard.

To remind, Haggard is the disgraced preacher who resigned his post as head of a major evangelical group last year in the wake of a male prostitute's allegations that Haggard engaged in gay sex and used drugs.

Here's what O'Reilly's commentary said in part:

"We said we'd report back to you today on which news organizations covered the story and which did not. The two biggest left-wing outfits in the country, The New York Times and NBC News, ignored the story entirely. CBS News, CNN and most of the big-city liberal newspapers also failed to cover the Rust-Tierney arrest. ABCnews.com and The Associated Press did cover. And because it happened in their back yard, The Washington Post ran a brief story in its second section, essentially burying the entire thing. Now the failure of most media outlets to cover this colossal embarrassment to the ACLU contrasts vividly with the coverage of preacher Ted Haggard, which embarrassed conservative Christians. You remember when Haggard was accused of immorality by a male prostitute; the story was all over the place. ... These news agencies are no longer objective. They exist to push secular progressive agendas and disparage traditional points of view. We proved that over and over again ... This is yet more proof that the American press is corrupt. And it pains me to say it. But journalism in this country is at a low point. And it comes right before one of the most important presidential elections in history. Much of the mainstream media are now invested in promoting ideology at the expense of providing honest information. The folks are being short-changed. We in the press have been granted special privileges by the Constitution. Those privileges are now being abused by corrupt editors and TV executives ... ."

O'Reilly's right, and wrong. The Chronicle, like many other news organizations, largely ignored the Rust-Tierney story, or only published a brief. I received about a dozen calls and e-mails from readers citing O'Reilly's commentary and charging that we have a "liberal agenda" for not publishing the story. Here's why we passed on the story:

Rust-Tierney, 51, had been president of the ACLU's Virginia chapter, not the organization's national president. His claim to local fame (in the late 1990s) was appealing to the Loudoun County Library Board for unrestricted access to the Internet. He also was a youth sports coach, which, of course, makes the charges against him all the more disturbing.

Conversely, Haggard was the president of the National Evangelical Association, an organization that represents 30 million evangelical Christians. As NEA president, Haggard participated in conference calls with White House staffers and lobbied Congress on Supreme Court nominees. He also condemned homosexual sex.

Rust-Tierney's duties or stature did not rise to Haggard's level, therefore his story was not of the same magnitude. I do, however, believe it warranted a brief.

In all of his self-righteous indignation, O'Reilly exposed himself as the charlatan that he is. It's his choice to keep score. But the least he can do is compare apples to apples.

Campbell is the Chronicle's Readers' Representative and a member of the Editorial Board

http://www.chron.com

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