Help Politifact police the pundits: suggest facts to check from the O'Reillys and Olbermanns of the world

This may come as a bit of a surprise, but there are times when pundits don't tell the whole truth on these cable TV news shows.

For example, Fox News blowhard Bill O'Reilly is telling a falsehood when saying he never called murdered abortion doctor George Tiller a baby killer, but simply reported what others called him. (Fact: he used the term 24 times in the past four years.)

And Joe Scarborough's claim that President Barack Obama has never received a paycheck from a profitmaking business in his life ignores the president's income from his two books, along with his work for a Chicago law firm and in construction, among other gigs. Rachel Maddow got it wrong when she suggested Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin led the call for the state's Democratic senator to resign.

Fortunately, the St. Petersburg Times' Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking Web site, PolitiFact, is ready to help. Along with analyzing progress on more than 500 promises made by President Obama during the campaign, PolitiFact is now taking a closer look at the arguments made by pundits on political TV and radio talk shows.

But they would like your help.

So send them claims you would like to see vetted. E-mail to truthometer@politifact.com. You can see some of the claims they've vetted already by clicking here, from confirming George Will's assertion that $325-billion spent in the toxic assets program hasn't been used to acquire toxic assets, to debunking Rush Limbaugh's claim that every speech George Washington gave references God.

It's hard to know how well this may be received by fans, who seem mostly to watch pundits telling them what they want to hear. But I admire PolitiFact for trying to bring a little sense and accountability to an increasingly hysterical arena.

 Time to start holding some of our broadcasters to the same standard we hold our politicians.

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Comments

[Derek Gibson]

High rated news coverage, such as Fox news and Bill O'Reilly, is often what is deemed by viewers as the most entertaining rather than the most informative. Unfortunately it does appear that folks out there are more interested in being entertained than informed.

[thinking]

Historically the lowest form of entertainment has been the most popular - this is why fart jokes and comedy sketches about people being hit in the groin are universal.

This is also why FOX news endures.

[St Petersburg resident]

Scott, I think your concept of what media outlets' mission is, is not what most Americans think media should be. We do not want the media's "opposing idealistic views" as you put it. WE JUST WANT THE MEDIA TO REPORT THE DAMN NEWS INSTEAD OF TRYING TO MANUFACTURE THE NEWS.

[FACT CHECK]

There is a reason FoxNews is consistently number 1 over all the other cable news channels: FAIR & BALANCE.

MSNBC is always last because they are a propaganda channel like some of the communist news channels.

Don't believe me, look at the ratings for yourself:

http://www.mediabistro.com/tvnewser/ratings/

[Santa]

Perhaps Politifarce will explain to us someday how all this spending is actually improving the economy? While they are at it, maybe they can explain the difference between created jobs vs. saved jobs and how to measure saved jobs, you know the only ones that Obama has targeted.

The media is so bias that there is no real investigative journalism. Politifarce is just as big a show as any of the cable news shows.

[kevin]

Politifact police the pundits? GREAT idea SPT. How bout giving this blog/section more space so that everyone can find it easier.

[Henry Dubroff]

I'm still waiting for Politifact to do some fact-checking on its Pulitzer Prize and recognize the efforts of the hardworking staffers at sister company CQ, notably Adriel Bettelheim, now White House correspondent, who worked on the Pulitzer entry but got zero credit. Does that make Politifact and Poynter potentially worst persons in the world? That's an interesting question. Full disclosure: I hired Adriel at the Denver Post in the late 1980s when I was business editor.

[Blazin]

It’s the right versus the left, the blue versus the red, and/or the liberals versus the conservatives. No wonder this once great nation is such a mess.

The truth of the matter is; both are right and both are wrong. And everyone in the bleachers is being played like a cheap violin. If they can convince 20% of the electorate to push “R” because it’s an “R” – and another 20% of the electorate to push “D” because it’s a “D” – then that equates to approximately 40% of the electorate they do not even have to address or be held accountable to.

Try this eye-opening experiment: As soon as the next major domestic or international “political” SNAFU occurs… simply switch back and forth between FOX and MSNBC and observe the amazing dichotomy of spin-reporting. You’ll be amazed at what out intellectually bankrupt media has morphed in to. You see, we no longer research and report the news; we script and perform the news.

What was it that turned out to be one of the greatest pieces of advise you could ever embrace?... “Believe little of what you read, only half of what you hear… and not one damn bit of what you see on cable news.”

But what do I know; “Mongo only pawn in game of life.”

[G]

Citizens For Legitimate Government

http://www.legitgov.org/

[Eric Deggans]

bear in mind -- this is a blog. So snarkiness is part of the culture.

But I will try to restrain myself when it comes to O'Reilly, who i think embodies much of what is wrong with cable TV argument culture and political inanity...

[The Truth]

Olbermann can be annoying sometimes with his political rants, but he is funny without using "below the belt" jokes ala Letterman. Also Olbermann has put himself on his "Worst Persons" list for making mistakes, so he has the ability to admit when he is wrong.
However, Olbermann is a top notch sportscaster, which is why NBC hired him for their Sunday Night Football coverage.

Bill O'Reilly is a blowhard. He never admits when he is wrong, and he conveniently forgets things he has said in the past, even though all of it is on video and audio tapes. O'Reilly's stalking of people he does not like is just plain creepy. If he does it to you, remember these three words, and his reporters will stop taping you:
1) Malmedy
2) Makras
3) Loofah

[Scott]

OK Eric, I guess I can feel your pain. But based on the journalism I see from you, I still would think you'd take the high road and save the name calling for the haters of the world.
Whatever happened to the days when two media outlets with opposing idealistic views could state their positions without malice toward one another?

[Eric Deggans]

I called Bill o'Reilly a blowhard for two reasons:

1) He is one.

2) He has insulted me by name on his broadcast several times, even sending a producer and camera crew to ambush interview me after a panel discussion at a media conference in Minneapolis last year.

So Bill and I go way back...

[Scott]

Of course Eric, since O'Reilly is a mostly conservative FOX news personality, you call him a blow-hard. Was name calling really necessary to make your point? Anyway, if you really want to see blow-hards Eric, go look in the meeting of your editorial board. After all, it is newspaper people that write "stories" instead of just reporting factual truths.

[Ryan]

@Tracy If you think Keith Olbermann couldn't hack it as a sports reporter you are grossly uninformed.

[tracy]

You're right - MSNBC blowhard Keith "Couldn't Hack It as a Sports Reporter" Olgermann is a fount of bad information, misstatements and mistruths.

Plenty of fodder for Politifact to evaluate as to its truthfulness, and lack thereof.