Talk about milking the story: Just a few minutes ago at 5:45 pm, CNN covered Paris Hilton arriving at CNN studios for her interview with Larry King. Tracking her from her car into the building — with two cameras, so no angle was missed — CNN ran a full segment catching viewers up with what Hilton had been doing since getting out of jail yesterday (holing up at home; giving an exclusive interview to People undisclosed terms, if any — a magazine which also happens to be owned by Time Warner, just like CNN. Oops, they didn't mention that.) Looking like he wished he could be anywhere else, Wolf Blitzer cut his interview with Bill Cosby about inner city poverty to throw over to Carol Costello who was "watching another story" — the story being the live shot of Paris Hilton getting out of her car, aka the Most Important Story of the Day for which all other stories are totally cut off.
As Costello voice-overed ("Paris Hilton is just arriving at the CNN studios...She's arriving for an exclusive interview with our own Larry King"), the chyron similarly announced that "Paris Hilton Arrives For Post-Jail Interview With CNN's Larry King" (a glorious event which was apparently "Happening Now"). How many "The Most Trusted Name In News" jokes can you make before it just makes you sad? Hilton, shot from outside heading into the building, was lobbed from one camera to another as she walked into the building, wearing a feminine lace-edged dress and smelling — get this — a white rose passed to her by her handler. The camera tracked her to the elevator, but if you happened to miss that, well, Costello confirmed it: "You see her going up the elevator to meet with Larry King, to talk to him before the interview." Well then! That clears that up! The "report" wound up at that point, with Wolf telling Costello, "Thanks for that," apparently continuing to uphold his vow to never utter the words "Paris Hilton" on his broadcast. We're feeling for you now, Wolf, honestly.
This Paris Hilton coverage brought to you with reporting from Katherine Thomson, Michelle Kung, Anya Strzemien and Amanda Dobbins. HuffPost is on the story! Or, at least, watching CNN with incredulity.