Vice President Dick Cheney commented on press reaction to his hunting accident in an interview with Fox News' Brit Hume.
Should the Vice President be giving exclusive interviews about his hunting accident?
Fox News Channel landed an exclusive sit-down with Dick Cheney on Wednesday, and that irked an already-disgruntled press corps.
After the story ran over the weekend in Corpus Christi's tiny Caller-Times, the non-Fox press feel as if they've been hosed twice now, and the events have inspired name-calling at other networks.
They certainly didn't like being scooped by Fox. CNN's Wolf Blitzer did verbal gymnastics, quoting the interview while declining to mention FNC, calling it "a cable network."
CNN commentator Jack Cafferty vented, "I would guess it didn't exactly represent a profile in courage for the vice president to wander over there to the F-word network for a sit-down with Brit Hume."
CNN and ABC omitted the customary "Fox News" label on the interview video when they aired clips.
In contrast to the competition, FNC has cast the story as one of press overreaction; on Monday, Foxnews.com bannered the story with the headline "Press Attacks."
In the interview, Cheney took full responsibility for the accident and put a human face on the shooting that's provided extensive grist for TV comics like Jon Stewart and David Letterman.
Buckshot sprayed the head and neck of lawyer Harry Whittington on the Texas ranch Saturday afternoon; officials waited 22 hours before the Corpus Christi newspaper was informed about the incident. The White House briefing room subsequently became the scene of fireworks as the press corps challenged spokesman Scott McClellan on why it took so long to get the news of the accident out, and why ranch owner Katharine Armstrong, and not a White House official, delivered the news.
In the interview, Cheney said, "I had a bit of a feeling that the press corps was upset because, to some extent, it was about them," he said. "They don't like that we called the Caller-Times instead of the New York Times."
In addition to the timing and manner of the disclosure of the information, much has been made in the days since about hunting protocol, whether Cheney was licensed properly and whether Whittington had put himself in danger by leaving the group to look for a downed quail.
"Ultimately, I'm the guy that pulled the trigger that fired the round that hit Harry," Cheney said. "You can talk about all the other conditions at the time, but that's the bottom line. It's not Harry's fault. I'm the guy who pulled the trigger and shot my friend."
Carving out a cordial relationship with the administration has served Fox News well in the ratings by making it the go-to news net for conservatives.
On Wednesday afternoon Neil Cavuto, the host of Fox News' "Your World," asked a question not likely to be asked on any other network: "How's Cheney doing?"
It resonated. Throughout the afternoon, FNC hosts read dozens of supportive emails of viewers expressing sympathy for the vice president and critical of press reaction to the story.
Cheney, who prefers talk radio to television when it comes to interviews, has expressed admiration for Hume in the past.
"I oftentimes watch another network," Cheney told MSNBC's Don Imus in January. "I'm a fan of Brit Hume's show. I think Brit does a good job."
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