Jeff Zucker on paying for media interviews
NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker on paying for media interviews.
From MediaBistro’s transcript of an interview with FT.com managing editor Chrystia Freeland in June 2007:
ZUCKER: Well look, I think the key thing is, anytime you do an interview with anybody is that you disclose what you’re doing.
FREELAND: So if you say ‘we paid a million dollars for this interview,’ that’s okay?
ZUCKER: Well I don’t know that it’s okay, but certainly, it certainly, uh, disclosure I think goes a long way toward, umm, it goes a long way toward making people understand, uh, what has transpired.
Now, that’s not to say that I think we should be paying for, uh, interviews per se. I think that if somebody has something to say, hopefully there’s a way to do it without any checkbook journalism. I think historically there have been many instances where there have been fees paid for services, videos, photographs, and people have gotten around this, including the most famous interviewers on American television.FREELAND: So it’s not an entirely new phenomenon?
ZUCKER: I don’t think it’s an entirely new phenomenon, but obviously I believe disclosure is the most important thing.
Posted: October 23rd, 2007 under Getting an Interview, Paying for Interviews.