During the September 25 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly stated that CNN has gone “over to the dark side” for its coverage of O'Reilly's recent statement, first spotlighted by Media Matters for America, that “I couldn't get over the fact that there was no difference between Sylvia's restaurant [in Harlem] and any other restaurant in New York City. It was exactly the same, even though it's run by blacks [and has a] primarily black patronship.” O'Reilly went on to claim that he “talked to CNN last night” before the controversy was discussed on the September 24 edition of CNN's Out in the Open and “explained the deal.” He added, “They went ahead with the racist angle anyway.” During the September 25 edition of Out in the Open, anchor Rick Sanchez aired a video clip of O'Reilly's claim that “he talked to CNN last night” and said of O'Reilly's assertion, “Never once did we utter the word 'racist' in relation to Bill O'Reilly.” Sanchez added, “One other thing: He talks about calling us and talking to us. In actuality, he called and screamed at the top of his lungs for a very long period of time.”

While discussing media coverage of his recent comments, O'Reilly also claimed, “Elements at NBC News have made a living parroting Media Matters garbage. And now sadly, CNN has jumped into the swamp.” He later added, “If a slime machine like Media Matters can get its far-left propaganda on CNN and NBC News, the nation is in trouble.”

From the September 25 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thanks for watching us tonight. CNN goes over to the dark side. That is the subject of this evening's “Talking Points Memo.”

Every weekday, we do three hours of commentary -- two on the radio, one on TV. And every day, the far-left smear website Media Matters takes that commentary out of context and feeds the defamation out to the public.

Media Matters, which acts in concert with the now notorious MoveOn, has labeled me anti-black, anti-Hispanic, homophobic, and anti-Semitic. I'm sure I'll be a member of the Manson family shortly.

Of course, this is all nonsense. And we usually ignore it, until it is picked up by the so-called mainstream media. Elements at NBC News have made a living parroting Media Matters garbage. And now sadly, CNN has jumped into the swamp.

Recently on The Radio Factor, I did an hour on how racism is dumb, how it is driven by fear. And I even used my own late grandmother as an example.

Now, you can hear that radio hour on billoreilly.com. It's very interesting discussion. And we didn't hear one complaint about the program that ran on more than 400 radio stations.

Well, yesterday, Media Matters distorted the entire conversation and implied I was racist for condemning racism. Stunningly, CNN echoed the defamation on at least three of its programs.

The reason CNN did this is because its ratings are abysmal. It is getting hammered by Fox News. So they're desperate for attention. And smearing me is one way to get it.

Unfortunately, many in CNN's audience have no idea what I said. And some believe the garbage they are hearing.

Now, I talked to CNN last night before that program. It was obvious they didn't listen to The Radio Factor. So I explained the deal. They went ahead with the racist angle anyway. This is dishonest and dangerous. If a slime machine like Media Matters can get its far-left propaganda on CNN and NBC News, the nation is in trouble.

“Talking Points” has said many times on this broadcast that we respect CNN. We didn't attack them in any way. And in the past, they have been responsible. But this is absurd. The Media Matters defamation was also picked up by the local ABC affiliate here in New York City. Again, totally irresponsible.

From the September 25 edition of CNN's Out in the Open:

SANCHEZ: And we welcome you back. We've been talking about some of the remarks that were made by Bill O'Reilly on his syndicated radio show last week about African-Americans and his visit to a Harlem restaurant. Well, tonight on his program on Fox News, Bill O'Reilly responded to our coverage of his remarks and the reaction.

O'REILLY (video clip): Now, I talked to CNN last night before that program. It was obvious they didn't listen to The Radio Factor, so I explained the deal. They went ahead with the racist angle anyway. This is dishonest and dangerous.

SANCHEZ: Maybe untrue as well, because we went and we checked the transcript. The word “racist” was never mentioned during our show, certainly not by me. Never once did we utter the word “racist” in relation to Bill O'Reilly. Not by me, even not by our guest, Roland Martin, who was here at the time.

One other thing: He talks about calling us and talking to us. In actually, he called and screamed at the top of his lungs for a very long period of time. We've invited Bill O'Reilly, by the way, to come and talk to us. We'll be right back.