Edwards: Some Cablers Mistakenly Report Suspension; NBC, ABC Air Special Reports

Several news organizations reported that John Edwards was “suspending” his campaign shortly before he held a press conference to say that the “campaign will go on.”

It seemed to start with a Politico.com report. (FishbowlDC has some of the details.) CNN and Headline News, among others, cited Politico’s story. “We’re still working to confirm this report,” a HLN anchor said.

FNC’s Carl Cameron worded it carefully: “We have now been given to believe that what he will announce is that he will suspend his campaigning at least for the short-term.”

NBC’s Brian Williams and ABC’s Charles Gibson anchored special reports on their respective networks as Edwards held the presser. Williams was joined by Nancy Snyderman in NY and Campbell Brown in NC. Gibson was joined by Timothy Johnson in NY and George Stephanopoulos in DC. CBS did not air a special report.

> Also: “I was struck by how MSNBC — more so than CNN or Fox News Channel — focused on the health issues rather than the politics. The presence of Dr. Bernadine Healy was crucial,” Hal Boedeker says.