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The Franken Factor

Investigative humorist Al Franken thought something was amiss when Fox News star Bill O'Reilly -- whose Feb. 10 speech at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach was featured last weekend on C-SPAN's "Book TV" -- claimed that his previous show, the syndicated tabloid "Inside Edition," had won the coveted George Foster Peabody award.

"It seemed strange to me, but he was so adamant," Franken told us about the self-styled conservative populist, who regularly trashes liberal elites like Franken on his weeknight show, "The O'Reilly Factor." "I thought back and figured maybe 'Inside Edition' won a Peabody for its story 'Swimsuits: How Bare Is Too Bare?' or maybe for its three-part series on the father of Madonna's first baby."

Digging deeper, Franken did a Nexis search and discovered repeated instances where O'Reilly has defended his involvement in "Inside Edition" with such claims as: "I anchored a program called 'Inside Edition,' which has won a Peabody Award for investigative reporting" ("The O'Reilly Factor," Aug. 30, 1999); "All I've got to say is that 'Inside Edition' has won, I -- I believe, two Peabody Awards, the highest journalism award in the country" ("The O'Reilly Factor," May 8, 2000); and "A program that wins a Peabody Award, the highest award in journalism, and you're going to denigrate it?" ("The O'Reilly Factor," May 19, 2000). Franken also discovered that O'Reilly's claims are wrong.

"I called Bill and he was nice enough to get back to me," Franken told us. "Turns out he's been confused: In 1996, 'Inside Edition' won a Polk, which does start with a 'P.' You know, it's one thing to get your facts wrong on Fox. That's expected. But lying on C-SPAN? I don't think you should do that."

Yesterday O'Reilly told us: "Al Franken is on a jihad against me. So I got mixed up between a Peabody Award and a Polk Award, which is just as prestigious. Is this an illogical mistake? My comment is: We did good work. There was no intention to mislead. I really don't understand what Franken's problem is."

Alas, O'Reilly left "Inside Edition" in 1995 -- the year before the show did its George Polk Award-winning exposé on insurance-industry exploitation of poor people.

Lovely Lauren

(By Antonio Calanni - AP)

President Bush's 16-year-old niece Lauren doing her catwalk best during a Milan fashion show yesterday. Lauren, the daughter of Neil Bush, was modeling for Italian designer Gai Mattiolo.

THIS JUST IN . . .

• Media mogul and Fox Television chief Rupert Murdoch -- "a political opponent but a personal friend," as journalism professor Al Gore described him -- was Gore's guest at his Columbia University class yesterday. Gore's students (including the one who called us) enjoyed a lively back-and-forth, including: Murdoch: "We can't ignore Pardongate." Gore: "Nor should you. It's a helluva story." And Murdoch: "All politicians are paranoid of the press." Gore: "I'll go along with that." The former veep also confided that his favorite TV fare includes Fox's "The Simpsons," especially that show's "Itchy and Scratchy" segments, and "Futurama," the Fox animated series on which daughter Kristin is a writer.

• We hear that when Dan Burton was being miked for last weekend's "Fox News Sunday," the House Government Reform Committee chairman's shirt collar wouldn't stay down. After several foiled attempts to straighten it out, Burton remarked that maybe the problem was his, um, bulletproof vest. We hope the Indiana Republican was equally protected for his Sunday interview with ABC's Sam Donaldson, but Burton's press secretary, John Cardarelli, didn't return our calls. We hear Burton confided to the Fox folks that he's been so concerned for his safety lately, he packs heat back home in Indiana. Fox host Tony Snow told us: "We have been known to throw a fright into our guests from time to time."

QUOTE

"Those of us who've spent some time in the agricultural sector . . . understand how unfair the death penalty is -- death tax is -- and we need to get rid of it. I don't want to get rid of the death penalty. Just the death tax."

-- President Bush, drawing important distinctions for an audience in Omaha yesterday.

With Beth Berselli