Moody Praises Hume As “Sort Of The Pre-eminent Journalist In Washington”

In response to critics who accused Dick Cheney of choosing a sympathetic media outlet for his post-shooting interview, “Fox News executives cast the scoop as the result of persistence and the growing clout of the top-rated cable news network,” the L.A. Times says.

FNC put out senior VPJohn Moody to defend Hume’s exclusive. “We’ve been after the vice president since Sunday, as everyone has, and our efforts paid off,” Moody told Matea Gold. “I think he wanted to make sure he got a fair interview and a good interview — good in the sense of thorough — and Brit is sort of the pre-eminent journalist in Washington right now.”

> Also: Moody tells USA Today that he couldn’t think “of an important point that Brit didn’t hit. He prepares with scientific thoroughness.”

> Update: 10:03am: Hume also says: “I thought it was probably because he wanted to go with the news channel with the largest audience.”