White House Press Corps Didn’t Demand To Watch CNN On Air Force One

Yesterday’s incident on Air Force One has been spun into a “liberal bias issue.” NewsBusters titled it “WH Press Corps Demands To Watch CNN.”

But Washington Post reporter Jim VandeHei “was not asking to watch CNN,” his colleague Tom Edsall said in a WashingtonPost.com chat today. “I think that was McClellan’s interjection to make it look like the media wanted to watch the ‘liberal’ channel. In fact, some of the folks on the plane wanted to watch ESPN.”

VandeHei adds: “My issue, again, was with being forced to watch one network especially one most white house aides I talk to consider the most favorable in terms of its coverage of Bush. I would raise the same issue if it appeared there was policy mandating CNN viewing.”