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Daily Show featured Media Matters coverage of Fox News' hypocrisy in "war" on Christmas

December 14, 2005 1:36 pm ET

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart featured Media Matters for America in a segment on Fox News' "war" on Christmas, showing a screen shot of a Media Matters item regarding the Fox News Store selling "Holiday" ornaments.

Trouble viewing clip? Download: QT | WMV

On the December 13 broadcast of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, host Jon Stewart highlighted Media Matters for America by airing a screen shot of a Media Matters item on Fox News' so-called "war" on Christmas to note that Fox News Channel "until recently ... invited viewers to buy an O'Reilly Factor 'Holiday' ornament for their 'Holiday tree.' Continuing, Stewart said: "In the 'war' on Christmas, that's what's known as 'friendly fire.' "

As Media Matters has documented, on December 2, Bill O'Reilly, host of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor and Westwood One's The Radio Factor with Bill O'Reilly, played a year-old Daily Show clip to demonstrate what he perceives is an assault on Christmas by secular forces, a theory he has been advancing as part of his ongoing coverage of a purported "war" on Christmas. But prior to airing the clip, O'Reilly told his radio listeners that The Daily Show sketch aired the day before and later left his cable viewers with a similar misleading impression.

A few days after a Media Matters review highlighted O'Reilly's false representation, on the December 7 edition of the Daily Show, Stewart responded by airing the same clip O'Reilly used and inviting correspondent Samantha Bee, who was featured in the December 2004 segment O'Reilly excerpted, onto the show. Bee, who is pregnant, and according to a November 13 New York Times article (subscription only), is due in January, concluded that the segment was taped in December 2004 after she compared her current appearance with the one shown in the clip.

From the December 13 broadcast of Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:

STEWART: Fox News' Bill O'Reilly has been at the forefront of defending Christmas, even though until recently Fox News' own online store invited viewers to buy an O'Reilly Factor "Holiday" ornament for their "Holiday tree." In the "war" on Christmas, that's what's known as "friendly fire." But, he still lays the blame on thin-skinned heathens.

O'REILLY [clip]: I don't believe most people who aren't Christian are offended by the words "Merry Christmas." I think those people are nuts. I think you are crazy if you're offended by the words "Merry Christmas."

STEWART: I actually agree with that. I think they're just words -- Merry Christmas. I think it's innocuous. I don't think there's, really, any way that a sane person could be offended by a silly two-word phrase. You know what Mr. O'Reilly? You're a reasonable man.

[beging video clip]

PHILIP NULMAN (advertising and marketing executive): "Season's Greetings" and "Happy Holidays," Bill, does not offend Christians.

O'REILLY: Yes, it does. It absolutely does.

[end video clip]

[laughter]

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    • Author by publius (December 14, 2005 2:09 pm ET)
         
      O'Reilly, who accuses others of being demagogues, is himself the textbook definition of a demagogue, viz., one who "makes use of popular prejudices and false claims and promises in order to gain power". O'Reilly knows he can increase viewership/listeners by milking this issue. It's a goldmine.
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    • Author by bonvechioc (December 14, 2005 2:09 pm ET)
         
      Jon Stewart really is a genius. Of course exposing a hypocrite like O'Liely is really that hard but still he does it so well. The "War on Christmas" is the right wings new "Gay Marriage". Just a way to use the intolerance and bigotry that hides in so many people and give it life.
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    • Author by Brabantio (December 14, 2005 2:15 pm ET)
         
      I noticed this during the program. It occured to me that Stewart may be getting a minor bit of revenge here. Since O'Reilly's use of the year-old Daily Show clip (which inspired a great little rant from Stewart soon after), I think the use of MMfA is a jab back at O'Reilly. After all, MMfA is O'Reilly's least-favorite "smear site", and they point out so many of his lies. Of course, Tommy will show up here and claim that this only helps O'Reilly. Just like Stewart's exposure of O'Reilly's blatantly hypocritical "non-Christians aren't really offended unless they're nuts but Christians are definitely offended by Happy Holidays" helps him, somehow.
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    • Author by mjh (December 14, 2005 2:37 pm ET)
         
      Dear Mr. O'Reilly: I am a Christian and do not get offended by the words Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy Channakah, Happy Kwanzaa, Happy New Year, or Happy Hallo'ween. At Present we are engaged in a REAL WAR that has cost the lives of over 2,100 American servicemen and women as well as thousands of Iraqi civilians. Please stop wasting words, airtime, cyberspace, and brain cells with this ersatz "war" on Christmas, when we have an actual war we should be more concerned about. Thank you and have a nice day, and Happy Holidays. Sincerely, Mike
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    • Author by watchingthenews (December 14, 2005 3:10 pm ET)
         
      It just shows how stupid BO really is; shooting his mouth off every night about how the forces of evil are destroying Christianity all the while his employer -who he vigorously defends at all cost - was selling products labeled the way he and his co-hack Gibson are whining about! Does BO or Gibson even mention that they're working for a corporation that engages in this while pointing finger at others? Nope. Great job Bill, showing every one of your knucklehead viewers you are a lying fool!
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    • Author by Sagra (December 14, 2005 5:21 pm ET)
         
      Samantha Bee had on the same sweater she wore on the 2004 Daily Show bit. I don't think any amount of blocking will make it wearable again after her baby arrives.
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    • Author by waywardson (December 17, 2005 12:57 am ET)
         

      Has anyone noticed that everytime there is a REAL issue involving the government, SOMETHING comes up to divert and draw attention away from that issue?

      Pay attention people - the real story is not Bilious Bill or anything that ANY media reported. The REAL front page news from Wednesday 12/15/05 is that Congress quietly passed a budget bill cutting billions from aid and education while simultaneously preserving and enhancing tax breaks for the ultra wealthy. That WAS the REAL news, relegated to back pages of papers and almost not covered by any media.

      Well, wait till next year when your school district is looking for money and people who have lost jobs due to outsourcing are looking to find food for their kids and their kids who used to get a lunch at school can't can't anymore.

      We have the government we deserve- dumb, insensitive and unable to pay attention.

      Merry Christmas.

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