Again, we’re seeing evidence that the primetime cable news shows — those on MSNBC and Fox News anyway — are increasing their media criticism coverage. We mentioned a segment on Sean Hannity’s show Tuesday night. And last night it was on display during Bill O’Reilly’s show on Fox News and Ed Schultz’s show on MSNBC.
And you know how this played out: O’Reilly targeted “NBC News in the form of MSNBC.” While Schultz called out Hannity’s coverage of the Derrick Bell/Barack Obama video first run by Breitbart.com.
O’Reilly led his show with a Talking Points Memo on “more proof that the left-wing media is blatantly dishonest,” and concluded that MSNBC picked up on a Media Matters smear of him.
While during the same hour on MSNBC, Ed Schultz brought on Harvard Professor Charles Ogletree who had been criticized by Hannity on an earlier show.
It’s not new, but these back and forth shots do seem to be on the rise. And it’s clear why these networks produce these segments: to defend themselves, to go after their competitors and to play directly to the bifurcated cable news audience. Fox News viewers love to hate MSNBC, and MSNBC viewers can’t find much love for Fox. Both clips, after the jump…