On the October 24 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly once again accused the media of ignoring the Medal of Honor ceremony for Lt. Michael Murphy, a Navy SEAL killed during a rescue mission in Afghanistan in 2005 and the first to receive the honor for the war in Afghanistan. In the introduction to his “Personal Story” segment, O'Reilly said: "[M]any media operations, including CNN and MSNBC, ignored the Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, in prime time, when his family received the honor from President Bush this week," adding, “It's just another example of anti-military media matters in the USA.” Later, during an interview with Ginger Gilbert -- wife of Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, killed in Iraq in 2006 -- O'Reilly asserted that “many media absolutely ignor[ed] what happened this week with the congressional medal being awarded to Lieutenant Michael Murphy.”

However, as Media Matters for America documented following his October 23 broadcast in which he accused the media of ignoring the story and specifically criticized MSNBC and CNN for not covering the event in prime time, while neither MSNBC nor CNN covered the story in prime time, both networks aired numerous reports on the ceremony throughout the day on October 22, the day it was awarded. MSNBC reported on Murphy at least five times, broadcasting the award ceremony live; and CNN covered the Murphy story on at least seven distinct occasions.

On the October 24 show, when Gilbert asked, “Can we please just focus on the amazing amounts of good that are being done in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how these men and women are selflessly sacrificing sometimes their lives?” O'Reilly replied, “But with most of the media being against the Iraq war ... and despising the Bush administration, they're not going to do that. They're going to spin negative all day long to further their political agenda.” He later added: "[S]o the reality is that politics is trumping the war effort, and that's just where we are."

Later on the show, when O'Reilly raised the coverage issue with comedian Dennis Miller, Miller stated: “Well, being ignored in prime time by other outlets doesn't surprise me, Bill. Quite frankly, I admire you in many ways, and I know you're a savvy man, but when you're shocked to find gambling in Rick's Cafe, that always befuddles me.” Miller added: “MSNBC stands for 'Make Sure No Bush Compliments.' And I'd like to give you an anagram for CNN, but guess what? They don't stand for anything anymore since they ran that footage of one of our soldiers being shot down by a sniper in the name of newsworthiness.” Miller appeared to be referring to video footage of insurgents attacking U.S. soldiers in Iraq that CNN's Anderson Cooper 360 aired in October 2006. Conservative attacks against CNN in response to the airing of the video were noted by Media Matters.

O'Reilly also asserted during the October 24 show: "[W]hen you ignore a Michael Murphy and his family being honored because you hate Bush, because you don't want to show Bush giving the family the Medal of Honor, that's corruption, Miller." He added: “And yeah, I am surprised that General Electric is allowing corruption at NBC. I am surprised that CNN is a corrupt news network. And that's what it stands for now: 'Corrupt News Network.' There's your initials.”

Miller concluded: “I would tell you this: I don't know the man, obviously, but if he lived his life like that, I think being eulogized by two second-tier, ratings-challenged cable outlets would not have mattered a twit to a hero like him.”

From the October 24 edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor:

O'REILLY: “Personal Story” segment tonight: As we told you last night, many media operations, including CNN and MSNBC, ignored the Medal of Honor recipient, Lieutenant Michael Murphy, in prime time, when his family received the honor from President Bush this week. Lieutenant Murphy, a Navy SEAL, was killed in Afghanistan.

It's just another example of anti-military media matters in the USA.

[...]

O'REILLY: All right. Now, I think that's a very legitimate point. You couple that with many media absolutely ignoring what happened this week with the congressional medal being awarded to Lieutenant Michael Murphy. You couple what happened to your husband to that -- all right -- and what conclusion do you draw about the American media?

GILBERT: The conclusion that I would draw and the reason I made a statement several days after this video came out, the point of it was to say, can we please stop? Can we please just focus on the amazing amounts of good that are being done in Iraq and Afghanistan, and how these men and women are selflessly sacrificing sometimes their lives -- selflessly sacrificing being in the war just to protect us and to keep the hate and the death from entering and reaching our borders? And where are the stories, the positive stories about that?

O'REILLY: All right. But with most of the media being against the Iraq war --

GILBERT: Right.

O'REILLY: -- and despising the Bush administration, they're not going to do that. They're going to spin negative all day long to further their political agenda.

Now, today, it was announced -- and we're going to do the story tomorrow with Dick Morris -- that casualties are way down in Iraq; the surge is working, at least temporarily -- very little coverage. Very little coverage.

GILBERT: Yes.

O'REILLY: Now, so the reality is that politics is trumping the war effort, and that's just where we are.

[...]

O'REILLY: You just heard Mrs. Gilbert. You know, a brave woman taking on the entire media. And then you know what our reporting was this week on the Medal of Honor recipient, Michael Murphy, the Navy SEAL. So, how do you see this?

MILLER: Well, being ignored in prime time by other outlets doesn't surprise me, Bill. Quite frankly, I admire you in many ways, and I know you're a savvy man, but when you're shocked to find gambling in Rick's Cafe, that always befuddles me.

MSNBC stands for “Make Sure No Bush Compliments.” And I'd like to give you an anagram for CNN, but guess what? They don't stand for anything anymore since they ran that footage of one of our soldiers being shot down by a sniper in the name of newsworthiness.

But they won't mention that. You know something? CNN has turned into a sub-clause and an afterthought, and they don't matter any more. And they don't matter to the troops. That's why the troops watch this outlet. That's why they're called foxholes, 'cause they know they get a fair shake here.

O'REILLY: You know, it's not that I was shocked they didn't do it. I was just appalled. There's a difference. I wasn't going, “Oh, I'm so surprised.” If you saw my talking points, I was so angry because of the corruption that seeped in.

Look, we get accused of shilling for the Republican Party and all this nonsense, and I defined it this way: We at Fox News believe America is a noble country. We make mistakes.

But if we have to give the benefit of the doubt to the military, we're going to do that. The others believe we're not a noble country. The Bush administration: a bunch of fascists, rights violators -- and any shot they get, they're going to take, as you well said.

But when you ignore -- when you ignore a Michael Murphy and his family being honored because you hate Bush, because you don't want to show Bush giving the family the Medal of Honor, that's corruption, Miller.

And yeah, I am surprised that General Electric is allowing corruption at NBC. I am surprised that CNN is a corrupt news network. And that's what it stands for now: “Corrupt News Network.” There's your initials.

Go ahead.

MILLER: Well, listen, if they want to break out a Lindbergh parade 'cause some failed politician trying to rebuild his shattered esteem wins a peace award from the guy who invented dynamite, that's their craziness. Go ahead and do it. The rest of us out in Cogent-ville don't have to play.

You know, Michael Murphy literally did recognize the worst person in the world, and it was the animal who was trying to kill his comrades and compromise his family's way of life. And he did something about it. He stood out in the open. He tried to signal for help, and he paid for it with his life.

But I would tell you this: I don't know the man, obviously, but if he lived his life like that, I think being eulogized by two second-tier, ratings-challenged cable outlets would not have mattered a twit to a hero like him.

O'REILLY: No, it wouldn't have mattered, but it's just the principle of the thing.