Thursday, December 22, 2005
Dick Cheney's iPod Irks Reporters
He's the Vice President, Air Force Two is "his" place, and Dick Cheney can do whatever he wants on it, but that doesn't matter to the gaggle of reporters who cover his every movement.
On Cheney's trip back to the U.S. from the Middle east, members of the press who wanted to charge their laptops and other mobile devices in order to file their stories on Cheney's doings couldn't - because the Veep wanted to listen to his iPod.
It happened this way:
When Cheney was traveling home overnight Wednesday from his diplomatic mission, most of the outlets on Air Force II went on the fritz.
Working passengers began lining up their laptops to share the power from a couple of working outlets - particularly the reporters who urgently needed to prepare their articles to transmit during a quick refueling stop in England.
But when Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedent above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours.
The vice president's press staff intervened so a reporter could use the outlet for 15 minutes to charge a dead laptop, but then the digital music device was plugged back in.
That way, Cheney got his press coverage and his music, too.
And what's on the Veep's iPod?
The music on it "ranges from country to classical, according to an administration official," reports ABC news, and "he has a good amount of music from the 1940s and 1950s and apparently is fond of Johnny Cash."
He's the Vice President, Air Force Two is "his" place, and Dick Cheney can do whatever he wants on it, but that doesn't matter to the gaggle of reporters who cover his every movement.
On Cheney's trip back to the U.S. from the Middle east, members of the press who wanted to charge their laptops and other mobile devices in order to file their stories on Cheney's doings couldn't - because the Veep wanted to listen to his iPod.
It happened this way:
When Cheney was traveling home overnight Wednesday from his diplomatic mission, most of the outlets on Air Force II went on the fritz.
Working passengers began lining up their laptops to share the power from a couple of working outlets - particularly the reporters who urgently needed to prepare their articles to transmit during a quick refueling stop in England.
But when Cheney said his iPod needed to be recharged, it took precedent above all else and dominated one precious outlet for several hours.
The vice president's press staff intervened so a reporter could use the outlet for 15 minutes to charge a dead laptop, but then the digital music device was plugged back in.
That way, Cheney got his press coverage and his music, too.
And what's on the Veep's iPod?
The music on it "ranges from country to classical, according to an administration official," reports ABC news, and "he has a good amount of music from the 1940s and 1950s and apparently is fond of Johnny Cash."
