Bidding War for Casey Anthony Interview Hits $1.5M

Media offers to Casey Anthony for an exclusive interview have hit at least $1.5 million, reports TMZ. Anthony's parents have already turned down a $250,000 deal for an interview with them, says the gossip blog. Anthony's lawyer is reportedly holed up in a Manhattan hotel juggling bids from the major networks. But now ABC News—apparently sensitive to criticism about handing Anthony a big pay day—has announced it will no longer offer money to news subjects to appear on the network.

"We can book just about anyone based on the strength of our journalism," boasted an ABC statement. In fact none of the networks technically pays for news. But they do offer hundreds of thousands of dollars in "expenses" and for licensing fees for photos and videos. ABC officials say they'll no longer pay those licensing fees, which they say is the "state of play" in the industry, but admitted the practice had begun to "tarnish" the network's credibility. ABC paid Casey $200,000 in 2008. (More ABC stories.)