During the November 15 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show, co-host Dan Caplis praised the Fox television organization as one that “built such a great news operation and has so much increased credibility,” without noting the recent controversy surrounding Fox News over the leak of an alleged internal memo showing that the network's news coverage instructions reflected hostility toward Democrats. Caplis, in praising Fox, also downplayed his own connection to the Fox News Channel, on which he and co-host Craig Silverman have appeared as guests numerous times during such shows as The O'Reilly Factor.

Caplis and Silverman were discussing the controversy over Fox Broadcasting Company's scheduled two-part interview on November 27 and November 29 with O.J. Simpson when Caplis praised the Fox News operation. (Fox Broadcasting and Fox News both are owned by News Corp.) According to a November 15 article on FoxNews.com, “Simpson will tell Fox 'how he would have committed' the slayings of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.” Fox News further noted:

Simpson, who was acquitted of the crimes in a 1994 criminal trial, agreed to an “unrestricted” interview with book publisher Judith Regan. The two-part interview, titled “O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened,” will air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29.

“O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes,” FOX said in a statement. “In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade.”

Both Caplis and Silverman criticized Fox Broadcasting's decision to air the Simpson interview. According to Caplis, “I don't know what Fox is paying him [Simpson], but to be party to giving a platform to someone who at this point appears to be implicitly confessing to a murder ... to brag about how he committed the murder and got away with it, just seems beyond the pale to me.” Following this statement, however, Caplis said to Silverman, “And I'm a big fan of Fox, and not just because you and I both really enjoy doing Bill O'Reilly's show, but, generally speaking, I really like what they're doing with the news side of that network. So I'm very surprised that they're engaging in this. It seems really out of character.”

Similarly, while Silverman was critical of Fox for, in his words, “lining the pockets of this double murderer,” he also suggested that “Fox has to participate. You know, ReganBooks, Judith Regan, they're a subsidiary of Fox.” ReganBooks is a division of HarperCollins, which in turn is owned by News Corp. During the broadcast, Silverman also said, “I have to feel that there's going to be more to this story, Dan, because Fox can't take this kind of bad publicity.” In response, Caplis stated, “Yeah, and Fox, you know, has built such a great news operation and has so much increased credibility.”

SILVERMAN: Yeah, but a stunt is one thing. And Dan and I don't shy away from publicity, but you have to have your limits. And who's going to put on this stunt? What is Fox, that network, thinking? I have to feel that there's going to be more to this story, Dan, because Fox can't take this kind of bad publicity.

CAPLIS: Yeah, and Fox, you know, has built such a great news operation and has so much increased credibility. I agree with you. There's gonna be a twist, whether it's -- and I'm not predicting this, please -- whether it's money from this going to the family of the Goldmans, whether it's some kind of ambush cross-examination of Simpson. I agree with you. If this is just a straight-up give him a platform, boy. Now, Fox has said they're not getting paid directly, or they're not paying Simpson -- pardon me -- directly for this. But I don't think that's going to be enough to deal with the public furor.

On November 20, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch announced that the company would not broadcast the Simpson interview or publish the book.

Despite Caplis' assertion that Fox News “has so much increased credibility,” instances of the network's role as an outlet for conservative misinformation are well documented. As Media Matters for America noted on November 15, the Huffington Post website posted an alleged November 8 internal memo from Fox's senior vice president for news editorial John Moody, telling his staff the day after the November 7 election to “be on the lookout for any statements from the Iraqi insurgents, who must be thrilled at the prospect of a Dem-controlled congress.” Media Matters has documented other internal Fox News memos from Moody that reveal his conservative directions for the network's news coverage, and has reported more than 1,500 instances of conservative misinformation on the Fox News Channel.

Media Matters also has noted that The O'Reilly Factor is a venue by which host Bill O'Reilly “serially misinform[s] his audiences, consistently skewing his presentation to advance conservative viewpoints.” Indeed, Media Matters has published more than 600 items on O'Reilly's “tactics and false statements.”

In 2006, Caplis and Silverman together made a total of 10 appearances as guest consultants on The O'Reilly Factor.* Caplis has appeared on the show three times since September 12, and Silverman has appeared seven times over the course of the year. In addition, Silverman has appeared on six Fox News reports over the last six months.

From the November 15 broadcast of 630 KHOW-AM's The Caplis & Silverman Show:

SILVERMAN: Now, in exchange for more limelight, money, and how he's [O.J. Simpson] able to shield this money from the Goldmans and his ex-wife's family, that's just the crime that needs to be dealt with.

CAPLIS: Yeah, and we both practice civil law, and we're both in the business of collecting on judgments we win at trial if there isn't adequate insurance there to pay for the judgment, but you look at this and, how would he protect this? I mean, under California law, he's been able to protect, you know, some of his pension, etcetera, but Goldmans were actually in court trying to get ownership of his name and image, so they could then sell this or that with the O.J. Simpson likeness for money. But now, if he's actually making money from talking about how he committed the murder, even though he's not flat-out admitting it -- come on, it's more than a wink and a nod -- how could they not get access to that money? But you can be sure he has some, some scheme in mind.

SILVERMAN: And Fox has to participate. You know, ReganBooks, Judith Regan, they're a subsidiary of Fox. It reminded me of our conversation when a lot of people were upset, and I was upset too, because I thought that CNN crossed a line when they showed the sniping at a U.S. soldier, even though they didn't show the exact moment of impact, we all got the idea and we all know that it was the enemy who brought them the tape and wanted it to be played for their own purposes. And we thought it was wrong, and there was discussion of a boycott of CNN. Tonight on CNN, Glenn Beck, who precedes us on KHOW, who was a guest on our show last week, he's doing a special exposing Islam, exposing what people in Islamic countries are taught about Jews and Christians and the Western world. And to me it's going to be a valuable service on the part of CNN. Now Fox News, who was so critical of CNN, they're lining the pockets of this double murderer.

CAPLIS: Yeah, yeah.

SILVERMAN: And yet I'm not suggesting any kind of boycott. Indeed, Dan Caplis is going to go off in the middle of this show to film [Fox host Bill] O'Reilly -- looking forward to watching that this evening -- to talk about the Midyette case and Mary Lacy's lack of action thus far on that horrible child killing. So, you take CNN, you take Fox, you take any big company, you kind of get the good with the bad.

CAPLIS: Yeah, but some things, I think, just can't be justified. Now, I don't know what Fox is paying him, but to be party to giving a platform to someone who at this point appears to be implicitly confessing to a murder --

SILVERMAN: -- Right.

CAPLIS: -- to brag about how he committed the murder and got away with it, just seems beyond the pale to me. And I'm a big fan of Fox, and not just because you and I both really enjoy doing Bill O'Reilly's show, but, generally speaking, I really like what they're doing with the news side of that network. So I'm very surprised that they're engaging in this. It seems out of character. But, hey --

[...]

CAPLIS: [Caller], you're with Dan and Craig. 630 KHOW. Welcome.

CALLER: Hi, guys.

SILVERMAN: Hey, [Caller].

CALLER: You know what, I got to admit, I watched Geraldo go for what's-his-face's vault. For Al Capone's vault.

SILVERMAN: Al Capone's vault.

CALLER: I cannot, I would not watch O.J. Simpson do this.

SILVERMAN: Now, wait. Let me defend my buddy Geraldo, who is such a part of that Geraldo -- I mean, the O.J. Simpson case -- when he covered it every night. But O.J. [sic] didn't exploit a murderer or anything like that. He just teased the public and he wrote extensively about that failed venture to Al Capone's vault in a book he wrote about himself called Exposing Myself. He's tried to withdraw that from print, but you can still get it at the Denver Public Library. It's, it's very revealing. In fact, it's a little too revealing about my buddy Geraldo, who, thankfully, I think, is settled down now with a beautiful wife.

CALLER: But don't you agree they're both stunts? That's all, you know? It was a stunt to get Geraldo back, you know, on television.

SILVERMAN: Yeah, but a stunt is one thing. And Dan and I don't shy away from publicity, but you have to have your limits. And who's going to put on this stunt? What is Fox, that network, thinking? I have to feel that there's going to be more to this story, Dan, because Fox can't take this kind of bad publicity.

CAPLIS: Yeah, and Fox, you know, has built such a great news operation and has so much increased credibility. I agree with you. There's gonna be a twist, whether it's -- and I'm not predicting this, please -- whether it's money from this going to the family of the Goldmans, whether it's some kind of ambush cross-examination of Simpson. I agree with you. If this is just a straight-up give him a platform, boy. Now, Fox has said they're not getting paid directly, or they're not paying Simpson -- pardon me -- directly for this. But I don't think that's going to be enough to deal with the public furor.

*On November 17, Colorado Media Matters conducted a Nexis search of Fox News transcripts wherein Caplis and/or Silverman appear as guests. Although some of Silverman's appearances aired more than once, Colorado Media Matters counted only unique guest appearances.