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Airwaves Battle on Air Force One
The controversy du jour aboard Air Force One today was one near and dear to the hearts of many otherwise happy couples: Command and control of the TV tuner.
“It’s come to my attention that there’s been requests – this is a serious question – to turn these TVs on to a station other than Fox, and that those have been denied,” Washington Post reporter Jim VandeHei told Press Secretary Scott McClellan. “My question would be, is there a White House policy that all government TVs have to be tuned to Fox?”
“Never heard of any such thing,” said McClellan, soon to be replaced by Tony Snow of Fox News, long viewed as an operation that enjoys most favored network status in the Bush White House.
“My TVs are on all four different channels at all times,” McClellan said of the four-screen array across from his West Wing desk.
He also noted that every White House television has split-screen capability.
“Well,” said VandeHei, “they always seem to be tuned to Fox.”
He went on.
“And these are paid for by taxpayer dollars. And my understanding is that you guys have to watch Fox on Air Force One. Is that true?”
No way, said McClellan.
“First time I’ve ever heard of it,” he said. “First time you’ve brought it to my attention, meaning the first time the press corps has brought it to my attention. In fact, I’ve watched other channels on here.”
Despite McClellan’s TV options, the record will show that – other than when the movie of reporters’ choice is showing (and that frequently invites a gender-based battle over what to watch), Fox is showing on the screens in the press cabin of Air Force One.
As McClellan and VandeHei talked TV channels, Agence France Presse photographer Tim Sloan volunteered that he was the one who raised the issue.
“I was the Fox victim,” he said, “and I was told, the quote was, ‘No,’ when I asked for CNN. … I was told, ‘We don’t watch CNN here. You can only watch Fox.’”
Asked who told him that, Sloan said “the magic people at the other end of the phone” in the press cabin.
McClellan said he found the issue “quite amusing, to tell you the truth.”
“I mean there are a lot of people on this plane that do watch that channel,” he said of CNN. “First time you brought it to my attention. I’ll go see what we can do on it.”
Moments later, after a quick trip up front, McClellan came back with the update.
“We just called up. They’re going to be changing it, at your all’s request, to the channel that you requested, which is CNN,” he said.
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