O'Reilly falsely claimed that on CNN “only Anderson Cooper” covered army recruiter's murder

Written by Lily Yan

Published

Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that on CNN, "[o]nly Anderson Cooper at 10 o'clock covered the story" of the slaying of Army recruiter Pvt. William Long. In fact, in addition to the coverage on Anderson Cooper 360, CNN covered Long's shooting on 15 shows from June 1 through June 3.

On the June 3 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly falsely claimed that on CNN, "[o]nly Anderson Cooper at 10 o'clock covered the story" of the slaying of Army recruiter Pvt. William Long. O'Reilly made the comments while comparing the coverage of Long's killing and the slaying of Kansas abortion provider George Tiller.

In fact, in addition to the coverage on Anderson Cooper 360, the following CNN shows covered Long's shooting on June 1 through June 3:

  • The 1 p.m. ET hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 2 p.m. hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 3 p.m. hour of the June 1 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The June 1 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight
  • The June 1 edition of Campbell Brown: No Bias, No Bull.
  • The 6 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of American Morning.
  • The 9 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 10 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 11 a.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 1 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 2 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 6 p.m. hour of the June 2 edition of The Situation Room.
  • The June 2 edition of Lou Dobbs Tonight.
  • The 10 a.m. hour of the June 3 edition of CNN Newsroom.
  • The 1 p.m. hour of the June 3 edition of CNN Newsroom.

When O'Reilly stated, “CNN says look, we don't do opinion. We do news. Only Anderson Cooper at 10 o'clock covered the story. Nobody else,” his guest, Joe Strupp of Editor & Publisher magazine, replied, “You're right.”

From the June 3 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

STRUPP: And also, the cable channels as well. They're over-covering things like this one all the time.

O'REILLY: Not this one. Not Sergeant Long.

STRUPP: Things get over-covered all the time.

O'REILLY: No way. Look --

STRUPP: It doesn't mean it's right. I agree.

O'REILLY: On CNN, only Anderson Cooper --

STRUPP: But you can point to a lot of issues where that happens.

O'REILLY: CNN is supposed to be the news channel, all right.

STRUPP: Isn't Fox and MSNBC supposed to be news?

O'REILLY: No, no, no, but CNN says look, we don't do opinion. We do news. Only Anderson Cooper at 10 o'clock covered the story.

STRUPP: Right. No, I --

O'REILLY: Nobody else.

STRUPP: You're right.

O'REILLY: So, all day long, it wasn't news to cover an Army recruiter gunned down in Arkansas.

Now, there is something else in play here, Doctor [Jeff McCall, DePaul University journalism professor]. What's in play is the zealotry on the part of the editors in the newspapers and the producers on television to promote abortion rights. That's what this is all about.

Because, you know, and I'm sure, you know, Joe, if you read the coverage, the late-term abortion was diminished. It was, “He was an abortion doctor. He was a mainstream guy” -- when he wasn't. He was an extreme guy. One of only three in the country. That's what I think drove this Tiller story. And again, the hook on the poor private murdered. There was no hook. What are going to do, bash Muslims? As you said, that's not in the narrative. But let's deal with the intensity of the Tiller situation. It was driven by the abortion rights crew, was it not?