'Today' Falsely Implies FNC Hid News of Cheney Beer

An unsuspecting viewer watching this morning's Today show would have thought Fox News failed to disclose that VP Cheney, during his interview with Brit Hume, acknowledged having a beer at lunch on the day of the shooting incident.

But when it comes to the MSM, it pays to be 'suspecting.'

Here's how NBC White House reporter Kelly O'Donnell artfully chose her words:

"The official White House transcript of the interview shows Cheney said 'I had a beer at lunch.' Fox News did not show that particular clip during Brit Hume's program."

I was jarred by O'Donnell's statement since, having watched "Brit Hume's program" - Special Report - I was certain I had heard reference to the mid-day beer. And sure enough, a transcript of Special Report confirms it:

Fox reporter Carl Cameron:

"The Vice-President said he had one beer at lunch, but the afternoon hunt began a couple hours later."

So Hume and Fox News did indeed inform its viewers of the facts, choosing to do so via a FNC reporter rather than the Cheney clip. Yet the unavoidable implication of the Today show story was that Fox News failed to disclose the lunch-time beer.

If anyone is hiding facts from viewers, it is NBC News and the Today show. Let's take it a step farther: it is hard to comprehend O'Donnell's report other than as a deliberate attempt by NBC to deceive viewers into believing Fox News hadn't reported Cheney's statement on his lunch-time beer.

Finkelstein lives in Ithaca, NY where he hosts the local TV program "Right Angle." Email him at: mark@gunhill.net