Ex-Con Paris Hilton Worth More Than A Lousy 100 Grand
According to various reports—more on that later—one network or another has agreed to pay or to not pay a large or even more large amount of money to Paris Hilton for an interview. The network will not be ABC—although they figured the "credibility" and close connection Barbara Walters has with the Hilton family (oh, plus an offer of $100,000) would snag them the first post-jail interview with Paris Hilton. Some reports say Walters was out-credibilitied by Meredith Viera and at least $650,000. Others say NBC's offer is $1 million. NBC says they don't pay for interviews, and fast-talking Paris publicist Mike Sitrick says the same, which means the opposite is true.
But daddy Rick Hilton says different.
As ABC representatives described the conversation, [Rick] Hilton told Ms. Walters, "It is a money issue." He was also reported to have said that Paris Hilton had made the decision to go with NBC and that she had chosen to speak with Meredith Vieira and not Matt Lauer because she believed that Mr. Lauer had previously made remarks about her she considered disparaging.
Ms. Walters questioned the decision, the ABC representatives said, noting that the Hilton side previously emphasized that Ms. Hilton's credibility was the paramount issue in the decision to be interviewed. But ABC said Mr. Hilton replied, "Nobody turns down money like this."
An actual amount was not discussed, but Ms. Walters told ABC that based on her previous conversations with the Hilton representatives, she believed that the offer from NBC surpassed $750,000.
We're sure there'll be plenty of righteous rage about the sad state of ethics in T.V. journalism but let's be honest: It's not as if we're talking about news here. It's entertainment, pure and simple. If ABC can't pony up the dough, they deserve to lose their facetime with the talking horse. If we were at the network we'd immediately start putting some cash aside for the inevitable post-stabbing interview with Lindsay Lohan when she finally snaps and takes a knife to Dina. It's just common sense.
