Industry sources say that HBO paid former NBAer Bill
Russell a "low five figures" fee to promote the HBO
documentary, "Bill Russell: My Life, My Way," which
premieres this evening, according to Bob Raissman of the
N.Y. DAILY NEWS. HBO Sports Exec Producer Ross Greenburg
"confirmed the payment," but added that "other HBO Sports
documentary subjects have been paid for their promotional
services." Raissman: "When an outfit like HBO Sports, which
takes pride in its journalistic standards, pays an interview
subject -- no matter how that payment is couched --
checkbook journalism becomes a major issue." But Greenburg
"vehemently disagreed," saying, "I think it's easy to assume
the reason Bill Russell did this documentary is that he is
getting paid for promotional work. That's a pretty easy
shot to deliver, but it has no merit. He came to us because
he trusted us as documentaries" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 4/16). In
Chicago, Ed Sherman notes that in the past, HBO has "paid
Tommie Smith and Julius Erving to help promote its
documentaries." Sherman: "HBO obviously wants to get as
much as it can out of its documentaries. But if it means
paying its subject, even if it's after the fact, HBO would
be better off to risk losing a viewer or two to avoid
questions of conflict of interest." But Sherman writes that
HBO "does its usual superb job with its latest" installment
(CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 4/17). In Boston, Don Aucoin calls the
documentary "first-rate," but adds: "The producers at HBO
Sports, clearly intent on an admiring portrait, touch only
briefly on Russell's flaws" (BOSTON GLOBE, 4/17). Russell
was the only person selected by ESPN as one of the century's
greatest athletes to turn down the net's request for an
interview. Russell, on working with HBO: "If my story was
going to be told, I wanted to have some input. I thought
they would do it the correct way" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 4/17).
IS GUMBEL LOOKING TO GO NIGHTLY W/SPORTS? In N.Y., Neal
Travis calls HBO's "Real Sports" one of the "best sports
programs around." Travis: "You have to wonder how a half-
hour nightly network sports program, anchored by [Bryant]
Gumbel, would do at, say, 7 p.m." (N.Y. POST, 4/17).
