Olbermann named O'Reilly "Worst Person in the World" for claiming "no far-right person" would appear on cover of Time

Summary: Keith Olbermann named Fox News host Bill O'Reilly the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for O'Reilly's false claim that "no far-right person in this country" is "going to get on the cover of Time magazine." As Media Matters for America noted, Time has featured a number of right-wing pundits including Ann Coulter, whom O'Reilly explicitly compared to Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines: "[I]f you were going to make an example of somebody who takes rhetoric to the extreme, Ann Coulter would be probably your best right-wing shot."

On the May 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown, host Keith Olbermann named Fox News host Bill O'Reilly the winner of his nightly "Worst Person in the World" award for O'Reilly's false claim that "no far-right person in this country" is "going to get on the cover of Time magazine," a claim O'Reilly made on the May 22 edition of The Radio Factor. O'Reilly's comment came in response to Time's May 29 edition, which featured the country music trio the Dixie Chicks on its cover -- a band O'Reilly described as "far left." As Media Matters for America noted, Time has featured a number of right-wing pundits, including Ann Coulter, whom O'Reilly explicitly compared to Dixie Chicks lead singer Natalie Maines during the same edition of the Factor, saying: "[I]f you were going to make an example of somebody who takes rhetoric to the extreme, Ann Coulter would be probably your best right-wing shot."

Olbermann stated: "Uh, Bill, what about when Ann Coulter was on the cover of Time magazine? Unless that was just some guy who looked like Ann Coulter." O'Reilly, whom Olbermann frequently names "Worst Person in the World," most recently received the award on May 22 after O'Reilly threatened a boycott of Mexico.

From the May 26 edition of MSNBC's Countdown with Keith Olbermann:

OLBERMANN: But the winner -- what a streak. This is like Cal Ripken now. After unsuccessfully trying to kiss the butt of Natalie Maines and Dixie Chicks, Bill O is back on the warpath against them, ranting that the band is "far left" and, quote, "No far-right person in this country is going to get the cover of Time magazine, as the Dixie Chicks are this week. There's not a far-right person in this country going to get on the cover of Time magazine, not going to happen."

Uh, Bill, what about when Ann Coulter was on the cover of Time magazine? Unless that was just some guy who looked like Ann Coulter.

Bill O'Reilly, today's "Worst Person in the World."

—B.F.