Dave Taylor: Who is being used?

You can find examples at the highest level of broadcast journalism. It's the "big" interview and the suspects are the high-priced interviewers like NBC's Katie Couric, ABC's Diane Sawyer and Barbara Walters and CNN's Larry King.

But it's a two-way street.

Couric is one of the more successful high-profile interviewers. She recently had a big "get", an interview with 14-year old Elizabeth Smart and her family. Granted, the Smart kidnapping was a huge story when the girl was found wandering on a street after being missing for more than a year. But the interview coincided with the Smart's release of a book about the ordeal. Sure the interview is classified as "news" but in this case as in others, the media is being used to make money for the family.

You have to wonder about the motive of the family to subject their daughter to such publicity, especially since they asked for privacy months ago when Elizabeth was found. But the media is falling for this scam when there is a book deal or movie rights involved.

Couric has another "get" on the horizon this spring. She will sit down with disgraced New York Times reporter Jayson Blair for an interview in March, which happens to coincide with the release of his book, "Bringing down My Masters House."

Diane Sawyer also has a "get" with Iraqi war hero Jessica Lynch. Her interview will coincide with the release of her book about her ordeal. That interview will be in prime time Tuesday on Veteran's Day, the day her book is published. Sawyer has conducted interviews with others to coincide with book releases, including Hillary Clinton, Michael J. Fox and Christopher Reeve. Who is next, the woman in the Kobe Bryant sexual assault case or accused murderer Scott Petterson?

While the interview subjects are using the media, the broadcast networks are also using the interviewee to profit. The public's appetite to hear from these people, who turn public tragedy into a high profile career, fuels the need for specials that are easy sells to advertisers. It's a vicious circle with no end in sight.

The problem is that these interviews after time start to loose their credibility. Are these interviews simply "news" stories or just free publicity and teasers to get you to buy a book or see a movie? When Sawyer interviews Jessica Lynch are we going to get the full story or will the public just get enough information to whet the appetite? The other problem is that these interviews occur so long after the actual story that the subject has time to prepare or be coached and at times the same emotional energy is not available. The spontaneity is not the same. Just remember the emotion of the Smart family when Elizabeth came home compared to the more controlled environment after the fact. It puts more demand on the interviewer to try to get those same feelings to reappear.

I'll stick with the news programs where the drama and circumstances are real and immediate.

Dave Taylor's column on media appears each Friday. E-mail him at dtaylor@naplesnews.net.