O'Reilly campaigns against defamatory newspapers & for Jessica's Law

Bill O'Reilly is listing newspapers that he feels disregard facts in order to intentionally defame those that they disagree with.

"I think it's safe to say that I had no idea what I was getting into when I told you in December that we would police the media for personal attacks in the year 2006. The situation is far worse than I ever thought.

Scores of American newspapers are printing personal attacks on people with whom they disagree, and facts don't matter. Accusations rule. We've listed some of those media outfits on billoreilly.com, and now The Atlanta Journal-Constitution joins the don't buy, don't advertise list.

Under the leadership of publisher John Mellot, editor Julia Wallace and editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker, the paper has become a far left publication that slants news coverage and deals in defamation. As a result, the newspaper's circulation is in a freefall. Only The San Francisco Chronicle has steeper declines.

So we now urge fair-minded Georgians, and that's about 90 percent of you, to avoid the Atlanta J-C until the Cox Company makes some changes there, which it will have to do sooner or later."

I'm interested to know if this listing ends up having a meaningful impact or not to those papers. Maybe we'll never know. These papers are probably doing enough on their own to drive away readers. I admire Bill's courage though.

One admirable campaign of Bill's that has had a meaningful impact is his relentless push for Jessica's Law to be adopted by all 50 states. Click here to see where your state stands. Click here for a list of the FBI's State Sex Offender Registry Web Sites.

Bill's Thoughts on Jessica's Law:

"If you've been watching The Factor, you know we are engaged in a battle to protect young children from sexual predators. Many states don't protect children from sexual predators and allow these criminals back on the street to commit these crimes again. There have been despicable cases all across America in which girls and boys have been raped, abused, and even murdered - often by serial sex offenders who had been released by authorities after serving short prison sentences.

Here are just a few of the more egregious examples:

In Rhode Island, 18-year-old Josh Maciorski was convicted of having sex with a 13-year-old girl, but sentenced to probation. Two years later he molested a 14-year-old girl and served just one year. Then, when he got out, Maciorski raped a 16-year-old girl. His sentence after this third strike - an unbelievable three years in prison.

In Missouri, 19-year old Darrell Jackson pleaded guilty to repeatedly sexually abusing a little girl, beginning she was just eight. But when Jackson came up for sentencing, a soft judge gave him four months in prison and five years probation.

In Minnesota, Joseph Duncan stood in front of a judge, accused of molesting a young boy. Despite the fact that Duncan had previously served 16 years for raping another young boy at gunpoint, the judge released him on just $15,000 bail. Duncan promptly skipped bail and headed for Idaho, where he allegedly kidnapped, raped, and killed a 9-year old boy, molested his sister, and killed their family.

These outrageous crimes could have been prevented, which is why I am calling on every state in the union to pass a version of "Jessica's Law." The legislation is named after little Jessica Lunsford, who was just nine when her life was brutally ended by a sexual predator who had previously been convicted of sex crimes against a child. The crime forced Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida legislature to mandate stiff minimum sentences for child abusers, who had all too often been slapped on the wrist by lenient judges.

There is simply no question that Jessica's Law will save lives, and similar laws need to be instituted in every state. Which is why we at The Factor have been putting pressure on Governors. Now it's your turn. We have investigated all 50 states to determine which ones are tough on sexual predators and which ones treat these criminals with kid gloves. You can find out where your state ranks elsewhere on this web site. If your state is soft or noncommittal, I urge you to write your Governor, who is paid by YOU. Simply click on your state and you will be taken to a form that will enable you to send a direct message to your state's chief executive. Please tell him or her, in your own words, how important this issue is to you - and remind the Governor that all politicians are ultimately accountable to you and your fellow voters.

This is literally a life-and-death battle to save our youngest and most vulnerable citizens from abuse, torture, and murder. I hope you'll do your part."

Thanks Bill. You are absolutely right.