How much is an interview with Paris Hilton worth? Representatives of ABC News said that they had lost to NBC for the first interview with Paris Hilton after her release from jail next week because ABC was unwilling to make a “high six-figure deal” with Ms Hilton’s family.
NBC executives did not deny that they had had discussions about interview rights with Ms Hilton, though the news division said that it could not yet confirm any interview would take place.
The spokeswoman for NBC News, Allison Gollust, insisted, however, that “NBC News does not pay for interviews — never have, never will.”
ABC representatives said they had been given the background on the negotiations by their correspondent, Barbara Walters, who had been in the middle of talks with the Hilton family to secure the interview for the network.

$100,000 deal
According to the ABC representatives, who asked not to be further identified because they were not authorised to reveal details of the negotiations, ABC had agreed to pay $100,000 to the Hilton family in a deal for the interview.
The deal would have included access to materials owned by the family, like photographs or videos of Ms Hilton.
Ms Walters told ABC executives that Ms Hilton’s father, Rick Hilton, after getting the ABC offer last Sunday, called back  on Wednesday to say that the interview would go to a competitor, because at $100,000 ABC was “not even in the same galaxy” in terms of what was being offered.
On Thursday night, though, the story took a new turn. The Hiltons’ representative said that despite ABC’s account, the family had not received nor requested any payment for an interview with Paris Hilton.

Denial mode
Michael Sitrick, a crisis manager hired by the Hiltons, issued a statement saying, “Contrary to media reports, Paris Hilton is not being paid for any television interview nor is she being paid for any collateral material, including videos or photos.”