Democrats Giving CNN the Inside Track?

August 26th, 2008 1:57 PM

Despite the fact that MSNBC has positioned itself as the far-left cable network, regular Democrats continue to prefer CNN in surveys. Has this preference extended to how the party leaders treat CNN?

In today's Washington Post, reporter Howard Kurtz talks about how the Democratic Party is being accused of favoring CNN by giving it a perfect visual shot during Barack Obama's upcoming speech at the Democratic National Convention:

CNN struck an exclusive deal with the Democrats for what will undoubtedly be the money shot of the convention -- a skycam atop Invesco Field, where Barack Obama will deliver his acceptance speech.

A similar request by Fox News had been turned down, and angry executives at Fox and the other networks complained at a meeting that one outfit was getting preferential treatment. On Saturday CNN agreed to share the feed in exchange for splitting the roughly $75,000 cost. CNN Washington Bureau Chief David Bohrman says that his network showed "great initiative and persistence" in pursuing the idea but that he agreed to compromise when his rivals got "incredibly upset" because "the whole country should see it."