Media Matters: Virginia, there is no War on Christmas

Media Matters - Newspapers, commentators agree: Virginia, there is no War on Christmas: "About this time last year, the media was abuzz with talk of a purported 'war' on Christmas, a charge promoted by Fox News hosts Bill O'Reilly and Sean Hannity, who blamed the supposed offensive on 'secular progressives' who seek to drive religion from the public square. This October, O'Reilly resumed his fight against the 'war' -- the same month the book The War on Christmas: How the Liberal Plot to Ban the Sacred Christian Holiday Is Worse Than You Thought (Sentinel, 2005), written by O'Reilly's fellow Fox News host John Gibson, was published. The allegation of a secular conspiracy against the Christian holiday became a recurring theme on Fox News programs; for example, over the course of a five-day period at the end of November through early December, the network had devoted 58 segments to the topic.

Media Matters for America surveyed the newspapers in the Nexis database called 'News, All (English, Full Text)' to examine how the allegations of a political attack on the Christmas holiday have been treated by editorial boards, columnists, and other commentators. "