On June 15, Washington Post “Reliable Source” columnist Richard Leiby reported that Eric Alterman -- The Nation's media columnist and author of the 2003 book What Liberal Media: The Truth About Bias and the News -- has threatened to sue FOX News Channel host Bill O'Reilly for defamation unless O'Reilly retracts his statement labeling Alterman “another Fidel Castro confidant,” which Media Matters for America reported on May 4.

According to the Post, the demand letter that Alterman's lawyer sent to O'Reilly followed O'Reilly's June 4 on-air apology, previously noted by Media Matters for America, to syndicated columnist Molly Ivins for calling her a “socialist.”