2006: Them’s Fightin’ Words

By Brian 

Some of the best cable fights of the year:

> Nov. 20: Klein accuses FNC of “cheerleading” for GOP; an “amused Foxie” wishes CNN and MSNBC well “on their quest for relevancy”

> Oct. 30: O’Reilly and Letterman, the rematch

> Oct. 27: Lynne Cheney suggests that CNN’s Broken Government series comes from “DNC talking points”

> Oct. 13: After Klein says Couric is “the sexiest of the news anchors,” Greta Van Susteren suggests he’s “the creep of the day”

> Oct. 12: “The unfortunate thing about Fox’s 10th anniversary is that most of their viewers aren’t going to be around for their 20th,” Klein says; F&F responds by reading e-mails from young viewers

> Sep. 29: FNC’s live shot is in CNN’s backyard; the CNNers will be “watching to see how news is done,” Thom Bird says; “we wish them well,” CNN responds

> Sep. 20: O’Reilly says he’s on an al Qaeda “death list;” MSNBC suggests he’s delusional

> Aug. 11: Lou Dobbs says this story in The Nation is a “mistake-riddled left-wing screed”

> Aug. 7: Laura Ingraham slams Joe Scarborough‘s ratings, so Joe responds: “Her stint at this network was an abject failure that ended in her firing followed by a decade of ill will”

> Jul. 26: Ailes on Cooper: “We haven’t spent $20 million marketing a single star, as one of our competitors has;” CNN rejects the $20 million figure

> Jul. 24: Roger Ailes on Olbermann: “Clearly he has no viewers except those he gets when he attacks Fox News;” later, Olbermann responds

> Jul. 22: How Fox News uses the “wish well”

> Jul. 10: Tucker Carlson to Anderson Cooper: “You’re either Ed Murrow or you’re Pat O’Brien from ‘The Insider.’ Pick one”

> Jun. 29: O’Reilly says there’s “major chaos” at MSNBC; Olbermann says Bill is panicking

> Jun. 22: Jon Stewart pretends to be a CNN or MSNBC exec: “Let’s copy Fox in terms of their like kind of nice graphics and loud swoosh noises, and also car chases”

> Jun. 22: Cafferty says “the dumb ones watch Fox;” an FNC spokesperson calls Cafferty the “crazy uncle” of CNN and says “as long as Jack’s on the open road, no bike messenger is safe

> Jun. 14: Olbermann says Cosby is nice, but “dumber than a suitcase of rocks”

> Jun. 2: Olbermann says O’Reilly has “slandered at least 84 dead American servicemen” from WWII

> May 17: FNC gives Tim Russert the wish-well

> May 11: Fox News creates an illustration of Klein “whistling past his graveyard of failures;” “Fox and facts don’t mix,” a CNN spokesperson responds

> May 9: O’Reilly says the “Fox hating print press” wants to “prop up our competition” by reporting ratings

> May 9: Jon Klein question’s FNC’s independence; a Fox spokesperson responds by citing CNN’s “dismal performance” and says Klein “should be more concerned with keeping his j
ob”

> May 4: Deborah Norville slams Rita Cosby: “You will never see [me] anchoring a show from a whorehouse”

> May 2: O’Reilly says MSNBC only has “ten viewers”

> Mar. 18: Olbermann talking about O’Reilly: “He’s an idiot”

> Mar. 4: A Radio Factor caller mentions Olbermann’s name and gets dumped; O’Reilly threatens “a little visit” from Fox security

> Feb. 24: O’Reilly circulates a “Bring Back Donahue petition; Olbermann signs it on-air; DailyKos promotes a Fire O’Reilly petition

> Feb. 16: Jack Cafferty calls FNC the “F-word network;” John Gibson responds: “Why don’t you just shut up?”

> Feb. 7: O’Reilly says Stephen Colbert “ought to be sending me a check every week;” later, Olbermann says the same thing about O’Reilly

> Feb. 7: Nicholas Kristof continues his effort to bring O’Reilly to Darfur; Bill calls it a gimmick

> Jan. 31: O’Reilly delivers warning to Bob Wright

> Jan. 28: O’Reilly calls MSNBC prez Rick Kaplan a “far-left martinet,” says he has “virtually destroyed” the net

> Jan. 11: Dateline’s Josh Mankiewicz calls the “War on Christmas” “nutty;” Bill O’Reilly responds to “attack”

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