ABC News Under Fire For Payment To Murder Suspect
ABC News is being criticized following revelations it paid murder suspect Casey Anthony $200,000. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee. Red Huber/AP hide caption
ABC News is being criticized following revelations it paid murder suspect Casey Anthony $200,000. Anthony is charged with first-degree murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.
Red Huber/APROBERT SIEGEL, Host:
From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.
MELISSA BLOCK, Host:
NPR's David Folkenflik has this story behind the money.
DAVID FOLKENFLIK: The disclosure came yesterday in a state court in Florida. Attorney Jose Baez was explaining to a judge why his client, Casey Anthony, needed help in paying legal bills. Anthony is on trial for killing her two-year-old daughter Caylee, and Baez had to explain publicly where her past funds came from.
BLOCK: 200,000 came from...
FOLKENFLIK: It's awfully tough to hear. But as the judge made him reiterate, he's saying $200,000 came from ABC News.
U: From where, I'm sorry?
BLOCK: ABC.
U: From ABC News?
FOLKENFLIK: On September 5th, 2008, Casey Anthony was released from a Florida jail on bail for charges of child neglect and endangerment. That day, ABC promised an inside look at the doubts growing around the young mother. Here was Elizabeth Vargas on "Good Morning America."
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "GOOD MORNING AMERICA")
BLOCK: Even if you think you know the details, there are new insights and new exclusive, intimate pictures like these...
FOLKENFLIK: Lawrence Grossman is the former president of NBC News.
BLOCK: It is, I regard, as a totally unethical journalistic practice to pay people for access that way.
FOLKENFLIK: He says it's particularly galling to see the revelation of such a large payment so soon after the announcement that ABC was slashing hundreds of jobs to save money. Grossman says such a hidden payment undermines the network's...
BLOCK: Trustworthiness, integrity, honesty of reporting in a serious way.
FOLKENFLIK: Staffers at ABC News, speaking on condition of anonymity, say they found it equally appalling. All the major network news divisions have a rule against paying people for interviews. Yet, many of them bend the rules as they chase big stories. NBC News recently flew a man back from Brazil with his son on a GE corporate jet after an international custody battle. He soon appeared on NBC. Yet, Casey Anthony received a big payday from ABC, and the network never told viewers.
BLOCK: I think they should say exactly what they did, whom they paid, what they paid, they should give their reasoning for pay.
FOLKENFLIK: Geneva Overholser, is a former ombudsman for The Washington Post. Overholser says she doesn't like checkbook journalism because interviewees can tailor what they say for money. But, she says...
BLOCK: The fundamental ethic in this case is transparency. To me, if ABC had been forthright about having made payments, then readers could - then viewers, I'm sorry, could judge for themselves.