Access Blogs
The Coverage Of Christie
I think I can hear you out there. You're rumbling a little. And it's ok. Some of us here are making the same noise you are.
It sounds a little something like this:
"Hey, Access Hollywood, why the intense coverage of Christy Brinkley's split' Isn't there something more uplifting or interesting or less sordid or at least more relevant to today's showbiz environment you can cover'"
This week, at least, the answer is no.
Unfortunately, this is the big story and, thanks to the nature of what we do - provide breaking entertainment news - we've got to deliver. Believe me, unlike some other shows out there, we don't jump for joy over scandal, and for a couple of reasons.
First, it's never fun to earn a paycheck beating the drum about other people's misery. There isn't a person here who is happy when our rundown gets fat thanks to something bad happening to someone.
And second - and this is strictly pragmatic - the bad guy here is a guy that is basically only known for having relationship with someone famous. All the big players, except for the victim - who isn't making news - are not celebrities. And celebrities are supposed to be the people we cover. Not the people who once went out with a famous person's husband before they got married. And not 19 year olds who you've never heard of who slept with someone who's name you probably didn't know before a couple of days ago. We have to go outside our comfort zone when something like this happens - and never feels good. That said, we can still cover a story like no one else can, regardless of the subject matter.
Now, there is inevitably some good news when something like this happens. The good news is that you get to see what your competition is made of, and what certain players in a scandal like this are made of as well.
As I explained above, regardless of whether you like the story or not, you've got to compete. And thanks to the unbelievably talented and dedicated producers we have here, we are always able to compete at an unmatched level. In this instance, it was booking an exclusive interview with Samantha Cole - Peter Cook's ex-girlfriend - before anyone else. Or, should I say, before anyone else stepped in at the last minute with a check for 12 thousand dollars to convince Samantha to cancel her interview with us and sit down with them.
Oh, well. Guess the competition wins this round.
So now Samantha gets to tell her story somewhere else with a pocketful of shopping money, and, in the process, she joins Mary Kay LeTourneau, Vili Fualaau, Joey Buttafuoco, Amy Fisher and Tonya Harding in a very exclusive club.
-Mat Baxt
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