Fox News Channel

Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera said Friday that there were no hard feelings after they engaged in a shouting match unusual even for a cable opinion program. No chairs flew and no noses were broken, but the finger-pointing verbal duel over illegal immigration on Fox News Channel's "The O'Reilly Factor" on Thursday night became a water-cooler topic the next day.

The debate among Republican presidential candidates on Fox News Channel this week drew about 38% more viewers than the first one that was carried on MSNBC May 3. Tuesday night's 90-minute telecast with the GOP contenders at the University of South Carolina averaged 2.4 million viewers on Fox, while the earlier one at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley attracted 1.76 million on MSNBC. An April 26 debate among Democratic presidential hopefuls on MSNBC averaged 2.

THIS is what happens when your news network gets overly politicized. First, leading presidential candidates say you're a propaganda tool for the other side and decide they don't want to play in your sandbox. The next thing you know, Angelina Jolie -- "the best woman in the world," according to Esquire magazine,- is allegedly dis-inviting you from her movie premiere.

I disagree completely with Scott Collins' piece in which he said the Democratic presidential candidates were wrong to refuse to debate on Fox News. ("Vote 'No' on Snub of Fox News," June 25.) Collins said that boycotting Fox would do a "disservice to all Americans" -- as if Fox were the only network available for Americans to watch. What about CNN and MSNBC? Or, for that matter, the major networks, which reach even more Americans than their cable counterparts? Besides, as Collins himself admits, Fox News' credibility is highly questionable, given the extreme spin the network puts on every story.

Liberal activists are stepping up their campaign against Fox News Channel by pressuring advertisers not to patronize the network. MoveOn.org, the Campaign for America's Future and liberal blogs like DailyKos.com are asking thousands of supporters to monitor who is advertising on the network. Once a database is gathered, an organized phone-calling campaign will begin, said Jim Gilliam, vice president of media strategy for Brave New Films, a company that has made anti-Fox videos.

It was Roger Ailes who came up with the slogan "First in Business News" for CNBC when he was running the channel. Now, he's determined to knock it into second place. Ailes is a key architect of News Corp.'s new Fox Business Network. The channel, which is scheduled to launch Oct. 15, helped drive media mogul Rupert Murdoch's pursuit of Dow Jones & Co. News Corp. won its $5-billion bid for the company, which owns the Wall Street Journal, this week.

Wednesday's debate between the GOP presidential hopefuls on Fox News was the most-watched so far of this election season, drawing 3.14 million viewers, according to Nielsen Media Research. The 90-minute forum, moderated by Brit Hume, drew 12% more viewers than last month's showdown between the Democratic contenders on ABC. Both beat the CNN/YouTube debate in July. -- Matea Gold

If you accidentally shoot a hunting buddy in the face, make it about the media. That was the message Vice President Dick Cheney got out Wednesday, courtesy of Fox News Channel and its most sober and decorated journalist, Brit Hume, who was summoned by Cheney for an exclusive interview and then left to play Cheney's press secretary, getting the veep's talking points out the rest of the day on Fox. Cheney feels awful, just terrible, Hume reported, but he takes full responsibility as the shooter.