Barbara Walters is an old fart - so perhaps we should excuse her for not being able to remember so well. Senility and all of that. Stuff she did just a few weeks ago is probably already hazy - like, for example, the phone interview she conducted with Paris Hilton right after Paris entered the pokey. We of course all recall this - how Barbara was supposedly talking with Paris's mom Kathy (an old pal of Barbara's), and Kathy happened to mention that Paris was on the other line, and asked Barbara if she'd like to speak with the jail-bird. Convenient eh? That Barbara - always in the right place at the right time.
Barbara had no problem exploiting that little bit of serendipity (right) by speaking of the conversation on The View. And why should she? She's a journalist, and Paris is a story. If you get some inside dope you have to run with it. Walters has nothing to apologize for. No one would accuse her of seeming exploitative and cheap, would they?
Or maybe they would. Barbara certainly seems to think there is peril involved in continuing to cover this story. According to Page 6 she was offered the chance to interview Paris once she gets out of jail - and declined. Here's Barbara's explanation:
Tawdry. The whole thing somehow was beneath me. Besides, it was a no-win. If I did a tough piece and her tears started to flow, it would be, "Oh, there's Barbara Walters making people cry again." Too soft, and I'd be criticized.
Barbara Walters, in her days as a respected journalist, would have surely been above such a thing as interviewing Paris Hilton. However, we all know that those days are long behind her. She proved this by becoming involved in the whole Rosie O'Donnell/Donald Trump fiasco - and yes, by doing the jail-house interview with Paris. Remember that Barbara? You didn't think it was tawdry then. You didn't think it was beneath you to recount that phone conversation on The View. Oh - but that's right, you're old and half-senile. You probably have forgotten. In that case maybe it's time for you to pack it in. You've got a lawn-chair, a sun-hat and a pair of white slacks waiting for you. And an iced tea and a nice view of the beach. I think it's time for you to segue into that new part of your life, Barbara. You know, the waning years. Let yourself slip into that blissful haze, away from where people can laugh at you and call you a rank hypocrite. Don't allow yourself to get caught up in anymore petty affairs. And whatever you do, don't accept anymore phone calls from Kathy Hilton. She's a plastic-faced hag with a lump of stone for a heart and the morality of a scorpion. No kind of friend for a distinguished and lovely woman like yourself.
(source)
