Pubdate: Sat, 05 Oct 2013
Source: Herald Sun (Australia)
Copyright: 2013 Herald and Weekly Times
Contact: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/opinion/letter
Website: http://www.heraldsun.com.au/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/187
Author: Holly Byrnes

SCHAPELLE EYES BIG PAYDAY

First Interview After Parole Release Could Fetch $3 Million

CONVICTED drug smuggler Schapelle Corby could command almost $3 
million for her first TV tell-all interview, putting her parole 
confession on par with the payday that welcomed the Beaconsfield 
miners back to the land of the living.

Sean Anderson, the superstar agent who negotiated Australia's richest 
deal ever for a prime-time TV news story on behalf of miners Brant 
Webb and Todd Russell, said Corby could match the money they made if 
she was able to speak freely about her Balinese jail ordeal.

With Indonesian officials considering the 34-year-old for release by 
December, all commercial networks are believed to be ready to open 
their chequebooks for what could become the biggest payday in local TV history.

The Corby family are understood to be considering all their options 
for interviews. Mr Anderson told the Herald Sun that despite the fact 
Corby has polarised the public since 2004 when she was sentenced to 
20 years for importing 4.2kg of cannabis into Bali, "hers is a 
significant story which hasn't diminished in value."

While her sister Mercedes and mother Ros have pocketed regular money 
for magazine updates, it is Corby's story in her own words that 
continues to generate "so much intrigue."

"There's still a lot of questions to be answered and no one really 
knows what Schapelle has been through," Mr Anderson said.

"There's so much intrigue and if she's able to really talk, this is 
the kind of exclusive interview you could spread across two or three 
nights. This would push all the buttons for a great TV drama . . . 
what actually happened (with the drugs), her time in jail, what it's 
been like to spend so much of her life in jail."

But the price tag for the interview would hang on parole conditions 
that could prohibit Corby from speaking openly about her prison time 
and court conviction, as well as her physical and mental condition.

Mr Anderson said: "There are still considerable hurdles to overcome, 
but there is no question, if handled properly, this could be a great 
opportunity for Schapelle to tell her story and negotiate a similar 
deal (to the rescued miners)."

The Corby camp has previously been able to evade Australian proceeds 
of crime laws by having the cash paid into the account of Schapelle's 
Bali-based brother-in-law, Wayan Widyartha.

Webb and Russell cashed in on their miracle survival, selling their 
story to PBL Media for $2.6 million.

Nine's 60 Minutes and Seven's Sunday Night would be regarded as the 
biggest spenders, but Channel 10 could want to mark its rebranding as 
a serious player by clinching the story for its Eyewitness news team.

Corby would have to serve out her parole in Bali, where she would 
live with her sister Mercedes and brother-in-law.
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