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
