"She just opened up and said she wanted to tell the truth," Bryant said, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "She was upset with the media for blowing this into a political firestorm."
This became national news because it was pushed by Drudge and then seized upon by the McCain campaign (or perhaps in the other order). While news outlets should be able to avoid Drudge's mind control powers, perhaps once a campaign makes a big deal out of something it can't be ignored. Still, as a general issue, there are lots of "small" stories which become "big" and make people into national figures temporarily and that's kind of a shame. Personally I try to not contribute to that, though I of course do at times.