corrections & clarifications
Local anchor backtracks claim that White House prescreens reporters' questions
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KPHO-TV anchor Catherine Anaya wasn't living up to her station's slogan of "telling it like it is" when she wrongly said White House Press Secretary Jay Carney pre-screens reporters' questions. Anaya made the accusation yesterday during a live report following a behind-the-scenes tour of the West Wing that included a "very long list of items" Carney reviews before each presser. She contended that the "questions that the reporters actually ... are provided to him in advance."
Not surprisingly, that set off a firestorm. However, Carney flatly denied Anaya's claims. "Briefings would be a lot easier if this were true! Rest assured, it is not," he tweeted. The Phoenix reporter backtracked on her accusation late today. In a statement obtained by Talking Points Memo, Anaya said while she had to supply her questions to the president beforehand, she didn't mean to have equated her experience with that of the White House press corps.
"That is my mistake and I own up to it," she said.