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RSSAt a bar in downtown Havana, Cuba on a recent weekend, on a lone and outdated television set, images of locally edited news updates flickered. Scattered among the locals were several Mexican businessmen, a few Canadian tourists, and a handful of Americans. One American in particular, hungry for baseball scores from home and curious about the presentation of news in Castro's Cuba, settled in for a local beer and an hour of dedicated viewing.
The sound was down and there were to be no baseball updates. Soccer was the big sports story, with updates on the Cuba vs. Mexico match and player injuries. There was a story about Venezuela's Hugo Chavez, several stories of local interest only, but virtually nothing of international note except for one story that dominated the hour. It was constantly repeated, capturing a full 25% of the total news hour.
It was the story of Paris Hilton. There were repeated scenes of her leaving prison, getting into a car, traveling through traffic and emerging again. Each time she came on, those gathered at the bar would glance at the television, watch transfixed for a few moments, and then return to their conversations and drinks. It was the same story, repeated over, and over, and over again.
While intelligent observers may be concerned about the negative impact the war in Iraq and America's foreign policies are having on our global image, America today is defined by Paris Hilton. Even in dictatorships, where news from and about America is banned, Paris Hilton is our cultural representative. It is not unreasonable to believe that Paris Hilton is the single most recognizable person in the world today.
When Paris first emerged on the social scene in New York, her drunken escapades at Amy Sacco's Bungalow 8 and other hot spots were planned and choreographed, with well-paid publicists assuring the stories were picked up by "Entertainment Tonight" and Page Six. As her notoriety grew, her life became an open Web site, rife with rumor and truth. Fifteen minutes of fame stretched into 30, then 60. Odds get better every day that Paris is this generation's Marilyn Monroe -- a beauty of some talent, endless sex appeal (who knows why), and potentially legendary fame.
Marilyn's body of work includes nude photo shoots for Playboy that at the time were scandalous. Paris' film credits are far less noteworthy, but it's not inconceivable that "The Simple Life" could live on in syndication for generations. Paris' stint in jail could have been an opportunity to enhance her career by handling it in the noble tradition of Martha Stewart. But that would have been out of character. Hardly a day went by that the paparazzi and tabloids didn't have a Paris story to tell. Perhaps not quite as choreographed as Bungalow 8, but effective nonetheless.
How hypocritical is it that the tabloid press would attack NBC for offering to pay $1 million for Paris' first out-of-jail interview? After all, the interview would likely become the most globally viewed television program of 2007. Why bury it on the "Today Show"? NBC should have made it a two-hour prime-time special, with footage of Paris' greatest moments and a live interview with Matt Lauer and Meredith Vieira. They could have held back footage for weeks of "Today Show" exposure that would have shot ratings through the roof.
How could the media have missed this opportunity to take the single most recognizable person in the world and have a captive audience during the summer ratings doldrums? Unfortunately for Paris, her handlers, and her fans, Larry King was an especially inappropriate option, but he was the only game left in town. You could almost hear the groans of CNN executives as the King of Non Sequiturs failed to ask obvious follow-up questions, repeated irrelevant questions multiple times, pursued a line of questioning on the impact of attention deficit disorder, and neglected issues that might have generated some actual emotion from Paris.
Early in the interview Paris commented that she had "a new outlook on life." Later she added that being in jail had "changed my life forever." King never asked what new outlook or how had it changed her life. When Paris said "I've been immature and made mistakes but I've learned from them," King's follow-up question was about friends Paris had "gotten rid of." When she talked, several times, about her work, King never asked what her companies did and what her role is. When she complained "There's so much more to me than what people think," King asked "Did you write a lot [in prison]?" When Paris claimed to have never done drugs other than Adderall for her ADD, there was no pressure, no deeper inquiry. No pot? No cocaine? No "X"?
King did ask about future plans for marriage and children, but no inquiry into her parents' responses to her notoriety, her upbringing, her life of entitlement (even as she stressed she was like any other girl). No wonderment where her sister Nicky has been and what their relationship is like now. Where were the questions about her relationship with Nicole Richie? Why no simple follow-up questions about the movies Paris is appearing in, upcoming plot lines for the next season of "The Simple Life," and what books she read while in jail (other than the Bible)?
Frankly, I'm disappointed a great opportunity has been missed -- the opportunity to take the world's most visible and recognizable personality and subject her to a meaningful interview when she is at her most vulnerable. This was the moment for Barbara, Meredith, Katie or even Rosie to step up and do their job.
Let's face it, globally and in the U.S. the biggest story of the past month has been the jailing of Paris Hilton. This is our news reality. This is our culture. This is our society. The world sees us that way whether we like it or not. Why, suddenly, did our institutions, network executives and anchors become camera-shy and above blatant commercialism? Did Paris Hilton, days after her jail term, suddenly become old news? What do you think?
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I admit I watched the Larry King softball interview. Her people chose to put her there. And for good reason.
I think it's healthy that's all she could get. For now. Don't worry, Jack, you'll see plenty more of Paris Hilton in the months ahead. I agree with some of the earlier comments; she is no Marilyn Monroe. At least she slept with JFK.
Regardless, Paris Hilton does bring in a lot of revenue for the industry. People watch her, as well as other celebrity news, whether they like to admit it or not. Why do you think there are 80 million, or at least it seems that way, entertainment shows devoted to celebrity gossip? Granted I am guilty of watching those scandelous, celebrity entertainment shows because it is entertaining, BUT I also choose to educate myself on other newsworthy topics such as: the war, racism, and other international disputes. That's the thing though, those stories are out there in the news. Are they the lead? No. You need to actively look for them instead of depending on the news industry to spoon feed them to you.
I really believe the news and entertainment industries give us what we ask for. And right now, the majority of the population would rather listen to Paris' "traumatic story" than hear about the U.S. causualities in Iraq. As unpatriotic as that sounds...it's true. That or we simply can't avoid her, and therefore we get sucked in to watching her.
I live in LA, work in quasi entertainment - and do know people, professional people, that would argue the "no drug" statement that she gave the other night. But so what! Smoke some pot, do some X, have some fun...you only live once. She obviously isn't an addict or she'd be in rehab by now. Did someone say rehab...or is that just another word for avoiding jail time....look at what 3 weeks did to change Paris, I wonder if it would do the same for Lindsay without the $50,000 price tag...anway, getting back to why I'm writing this.
The Larry King interview was a joke. More than likely he was given questions to ask and topics to stay away from. He more than likely agreed off screen to keep the interview simple, not to attack her in anyway, and he would get the interview for free...why is that so hard to see. Was that a typical Larry King interview? I don't think so. Now, in hindsight, he is back tracking a bit..."she was very nervous" "I'm an interviewer so I hold no real opinion I just do my job." Bla bla bla...
Now Anderson Cooper is a different story. Right after the interview he was appalled and was still baffled by what it is she does that makes her famous - what is it all about. He wasn't too kind at all. A life of privledge...he said ...Well Anderson I wonder where you were in your life of priviledge at 26? Did you smoke pot? Did you party? Or were you always the stand up son of Wyatt Cooper (my son's name by the way) and Gloria Vanderbilt? I'm curious - what is it like to be born into a family of priviledge? Or should we not open that door...look at Madonna at 26, look at anyone at 26! Angelina Jolie is only 30, but what was she up to a few years back? Do we all forget the black hair, the tatts, the blood around her neck and making out with her brother? Something happened to her and she became an Ambassador of Goodwill...and we all forget the rest...so why not Paris? She has a platform, she has experienced jail, she has a right to change and she has the ability to change a lot of lives. Give her the benefit of the doubt - god only knows we need it...and maybe some day, hopefully someday, I pray that when she is doing good for the world we give her as much media attention as we do today.
As for me, I like Paris Hilton as a lesson for anyone in digital media and PR. Here's why:
http://zennie2005.blogspot.com/2007/06/i-like-paris-hilton-for-same-reasons.html