Responding to the cancellation of Fox Broadcasting Company's scheduled two-part interview with O.J. Simpson, Fox News host Bill O'Reilly telephoned the November 20 broadcast of his show, The O'Reilly Factor, and asked guest host Laura Ingraham to “see how the enemies of the Fox News Channel ... spin this.” Responding to Fox News' critics, O'Reilly -- who, according to Ingraham, was “out of the country on vacation” -- said, “And, when I come back on Monday, I'm going to just list them all down. One creep out in the Rocky Mountain News goes, 'Well, maybe the Fox News Channel shouldn't have said anything.' ” O'Reilly added, “You know, these people are the worst.”

From the November 20 edition of The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: And pick your battles wisely.

I think we're making -- Laura, look, we're making tremendous strides in this country. And this proves it, all right?

INGRAHAM: Well, I --

O'REILLY: Tremendous strides.

And I -- and I think the people see this. And I think we'll have more of this. And the bad guys are on the run. And you know what's going to be really fascinating? To see how the enemies of the Fox News Channel in the next few days -- you see how they spin this. See how they spin this, OK?

And, when I come back on Monday, I'm going to just list them all down. One creep out in the Rocky Mountain News goes, “Well, maybe the Fox News Channel shouldn't have said anything.”

You know, these people are the worst. But, look, I'm with you on the culture war, Laura. I'm with you.

While O'Reilly did not name the “creep” at the News, he apparently was referring to the newspaper's longtime television critic, Dusty Saunders, who stated in a November 20 column about the Simpson interview, “Perhaps Fox News Channel personalities should simply not comment on the sleazy [O.J. Simpson] program.” Saunders wrote:

Fox News personalities are attempting to distance themselves from Fox Broadcasting's decision to air the controversial sweeps special featuring O.J. Simpson.

But can they completely cut the bonds to the two-night program?

[...]

[S]everal media outlets, including Radar, an online magazine, have pointed out that definitive ties between the two networks are not easily severed.

Radar noted that Roger Ailes, head of the Fox News Channel, also chairs the Fox-owned television stations (including Fox31 in Denver), which will broadcast the two-part interview, scheduled for Nov. 27 and 29 as a prime-time sweeps special.

A Fox News spokesman told Radar, “Roger has absolutely nothing to do with the programs the Fox Broadcasting Corp. broadcasts.”

Frankly, that's a lame, incomplete answer.

[...]

Perhaps Fox News Channel personalities should simply not comment on the sleazy [O.J. Simpson] program.

News Corp., which owns Fox Broadcasting and Fox News Channel, also owns HarperCollins; a HarperCollins subsidiary, ReganBooks, was to publish Simpson's book, “If I Did It.” ReganBooks has published books by several Fox News personalities, including O'Reilly, Sean Hannity, Neil Cavuto, and Alan Colmes.

O'Reilly recently condemned Fox Broadcasting's decision to air the Simpson interview and claimed on November 15, “For the record, Fox Broadcasting has nothing to do with the Fox News Channel.” On November 20, following several Fox network affiliates' refusals to air the Simpson interview, News Corp. chairman Rupert Murdoch announced that the company would not air the program or publish Simpson's book.

During the November 20 broadcast of The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reilly declared the cancellation of the Simpson interview “a culture-war victory,” and further claimed that "[t]his should put to rest, once and for all, the independence of Fox News."

How many times, Laura, have you heard, “Fox News is this; Fox News is that, bop-bop-bop-ba-boo”? What other network, Laura, would have allowed its commentators to go on and to slam, to hammer the programming arm? Fox News Channel has nothing to do with Fox Broadcasting. We made that quite clear.

From the November 20 broadcast of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

INGRAHAM: Bill, welcome to your own show.

O'REILLY: Laura, nice talking-points memo. You hit it on the head. It's a culture-war victory. The folks did it; and I am the messenger. But there's a few things that are really important to understand here. Number one: This should put to rest, once and for all, the independence of Fox News. How many times, Laura, have you heard, “Fox News is this; Fox News is that; bop-bop-bop-ba-boo”? What other network, Laura, would have allowed its commentators to go on and to slam, to hammer the programming arm? Fox News Channel has nothing to do with Fox Broadcasting. We made that quite clear.

[...]

O'REILLY: If you're steamed about a network or a program, you absolutely get as many people as you can, and you bring horror into their lives. That's democracy.

INGRAHAM: Pretty much all of television is a nightmare today, though.

I mean, some -- most of television, what passes as entertainment television, is either laced with political innuendo, or, you know, it has -- you know, it has completely immoral and -- and, frankly, degenerate messages for young people.

I mean, I'm -- it's not -- I'm not trying to make -- make -- make you out to defend any of these networks, Bill.

O'REILLY: No, I'm not. I'm just saying that choice is --

INGRAHAM: I just --

(CROSSTALK)

INGRAHAM: -- beyond O.J., there's a lot out there.

O'REILLY: Choice is a good thing.

INGRAHAM: Yes.

O'REILLY: And pick your battles wisely.

I think we're making -- Laura, look, we're making tremendous strides in this country. And this proves it, all right?

INGRAHAM: Well, I --

O'REILLY: Tremendous strides.

And I -- and I think the people see this. And I think we'll have more of this. And the bad guys are on the run. And you know what's going to be really fascinating? To see how the enemies of the Fox News Channel in the next few days -- you see how they spin this. See how they spin this, OK?

And, when I come back on Monday, I'm going to just list them all down. One creep out in the Rocky Mountain News goes, “Well, maybe the Fox News Channel shouldn't have said anything.”

You know, these people are the worst. But, look, I'm with you on the culture war, Laura. I'm with you. But I am -- I am basically telling everybody, there are some battles --

INGRAHAM: This is one battle.

O'REILLY: -- you go to the mat.