(CNN) – Nearly two months ago, CNN contacted the publisher of Melania Trump’s book to request an interview with the former first lady ahead of the publication of her upcoming memoir. After several exchanges about a possible interview, the publisher sent an unusual demand last week: an interview would cost $250,000.
In an email to CNN, Skyhorse Publishing sent a document titled “Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure Agreement” (NDA) that set out strict terms for an interview and the use of material from the book, titled “Melania,” which will be published on December 8. October. Additionally, the agreement stipulated that “CNN shall pay a license fee of two hundred and fifty thousand dollars (US$250,000).”
CNN did not sign the agreement.
Days later, after a CNN reporter asked Skyhorse Publishing about the exorbitant interview fee, the publisher said it had submitted the payment demand in error.
“Neither Melania nor anyone on her team knew anything about the NDA and the document sent reflected poor internal communication,” Tony Lyons, president and publisher of Skyhorse, told CNN in a statement. “If CNN had signed a confidentiality agreement, in the normal course of business, we would have approached Melania’s team to discuss (the details of the interview),” Lyons said.
Paying a public figure for an interview, especially the spouse of a political candidate, is frowned upon in most newsrooms, which tend to have strict guidelines against such a practice. It’s also highly unusual for the request to come from a representative purportedly acting on behalf of the spouse of a presidential candidate and a former first lady, especially with such a high price tag.
Melania Trump’s spokesman declined to comment. A CNN spokesperson also declined to comment.
Even if the request was a failure of communication, the price requested in the NDA reflects a similar amount to compensations you have received in the past.
Last month, CNN revealed The former first lady spoke at two political fundraisers for the Log Cabin Republicans this year, and was paid $237,500 for an April event, according to the Former President Donald Trump’s latest financial disclosure form. The payment was classified as a “speech commitment.”
Records show Melania Trump also received $250,000 for a Log Cabin Republican event in December 2022, one of three payments of $250,000 or more she received for speaking that month, just after the former president announced who was running for re-election, according to Donald Trump’s previous year’s financial disclosure form.
“Confidential Material” in the contract is described as “the unpublished manuscript of the work, notes, letters, photos or verbal information of any kind and any information obtained from any third party that the publisher or author treats as property and designates as Material.” Confidential”.
Any CNN employee working on the interview would have to sign the NDA, the contract states, and each breach of the NDA would entitle Trump and/or his editor to “liquidated damages” of $100,000, according to the document.
The NDA has signature lines for CNN, Lyons, the president of Skyhorse Publishing, which is distributed by Simon & Schuster, and the former first lady’s representative, Marc Beckman.
The contract specifically states that payment would be made for an interview with a media outlet -CNN-, as well as for the granting of licenses for photos and excerpts from the book. Even if the contract was sent as an “internal communication error,” this is an unusual request from the publisher of such a high-profile person.
“It is totally unprecedented. No former first lady has done that,” said Kate Anderson Brower, author of “First Women: The Grace and Power of America’s Modern First Ladies.”
Anita McBride, director of The Legacies of America’s First Ladies Initiative at American University and former special assistant in George W. Bush’s White House, said that while first ladies have received generous fees for writing books, such payment for an interview by news is unusual.
“It is consistent practice with Mrs. Trump to make the decisions that work for her and not be limited by any past practices of anyone else. She is her own company in everything that concerns her life,” McBride said. “That is the premise of your book. “I have made my decisions and I am not restricted by anyone else.”
Before the release of his memoirs, Trump has so far only been interviewed by Fox News, which promoted last month’s interview with Ainsley Earhardt as an exclusive, the first with the former first lady in two years. The interview included what appeared to be old family and personal photos.
Trump was also interviewed by Fox’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday night and has an interview with Maria Bartiromo airing Sunday.
“We do not pay any fees for interviews, including licensing fees for photos,” a Fox News spokesperson told CNN.
Spokespeople for ABC, NBC and CBS declined to comment on whether they received a similar request for payment from Trump’s editor.
On Thursday, the former first lady posted a short video on X saying that “there is no room for compromise” when it comes to a woman’s “individual freedom.” The publication It came after The Guardian reported on excerpts from Trump’s upcoming book in which he says he supports abortion rights “free from any government intervention or pressure.”
While it is not unheard of for news organizations to pay for exclusive rights to materials or interviews, especially related to scandals, it is considered by the industry to cross ethical lines and is not standard practice.
The payment “incentivizes the subject to alter what they are saying to make it more valuable to the organization, to exaggerate or sensationalize,” said Kelly McBride, senior vice president and president of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at the Poynter Institute (no relation to Anita McBride). “Your goal when interviewing people is to bring their perspective closer to the truth, and if they have any kind of incentive to distort it, you are failing your audience.”
McBride said news organizations often avoid paying for an interview by instead paying to license material such as photos or videos.
In 2008, ABC News paid Casey Anthony US$200,000 for the exclusive use of family photographs and videos of his daughter, whose body was later discovered. Payments were not disclosed until a court filing related to Anthony’s case in 2010. (An ABC News source told CNN on Wednesday that the network does not pay for interviews.)
NBC once deposited money into a trust fund for a Washington state high school student who faked a pregnancy as a senior project in exchange for a video of the student revealing the deception to her classmates.
But any payment or donation from reporters or news organizations related to politics is considered the ultimate anathema, due to conflicts of interest.
In 2015, ABC anchor George Stephanopoulos apologized for failing to disclose $75,000 in donations to the Clinton Foundation, and later recused himself from ABC’s planned 2016 Republican primary presidential debate.
Although Melania Trump is not running for office, political spouses are often seen as a package deal along with their candidate partners, said McBride of the Poynter Institute. But in this case, the Trump campaign has not been involved in the release of Melania Trump’s book.
Married couples are generally considered a single economic entity, with shared bank accounts and property, McBride noted. In a divorce, assets are generally considered shared even if both parties are not listed on the accounts. But Melania and Donald Trump reportedly have a prenuptial agreement, so it’s unclear how many, if any, of their accounts are shared.
“It’s very suspicious that the spouse of a political figure wants to be paid for something,” McBride said.
CNN’s Brian Stelter contributed to this report.
