Online publishers including The Washington Post have apparently come out on top in a battle with the White House over Webcasting rights to popular holiday videos of Barney, the presidential pooch.
In previous seasons, the White House had claimed exclusive online rights to the popular video. But when the latest installment was released on the White House Web site this week, the Post didn't wait for permission before hosting the clip on its own site. MSNBC.com also ran with the video.
"Last year there was an embargo on the AP-provided video," Doug Feaver, executive editor at WashingtonPost.com, wrote in e-mail Friday morning. "This year there was not. We posted it on the home page. We had no prior conversations with the White House, and we have had none since."
The White House did not return calls seeking comment.
At stake are lucrative video advertising revenues. This was the third episode of the popular "BarneyCam" flicks, which tend to attract tens of millions of page views each year. The Post's version of the video that was viewed by CNET News.com began with an ad from Intel pushing its Centrino chip.
The issue came to a head last year, when TV stations were given copies of the video to broadcast but Web sites were told they would not get the same treatment. That piqued Feaver, who fired off a letter objecting to the apparent double standard and seeking equal access to the video. In a previous interview, he told CNET News.com that the paper never received a reply.
The well-made and amusing video features Barney cavorting with President Bush, First Lady Laura Bush and top presidential aides.
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