ABC's Eco-Leo

By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday , April 1, 2000

In what can only be described as a journalistic decision of Titanic proportions, ABC News sent its newest star to interview the president of the United States yesterday.
His name is Leonardo DiCaprio.

We are not making this up.

In its wisdom, the news division of Peter Jennings and Ted Koppel decided that the heartthrob was the ideal person to chat up Bill Clinton for an hour-long special on the environment.

"I thought it was an interesting, innovative opportunity for us to take a very important subject and, with someone like Leonardo DiCaprio, be able to direct it to a young audience," said Phyllis McGrady, executive producer of the prime-time program. "It's a little bit of an experiment. It's a little different for us. That's what's good about it."

Sources were unable to describe what the young actor was wearing during his presidential interview--which ABC executives may want to call a "visit," as they reclassified Diane Sawyer's encounter with 6-year-old Elian Gonzalez after a storm of criticism.

"We thought it was a good opportunity to educate Americans about the importance of climate change and a host of other issues," said White House spokesman Jake Siewert. DiCaprio, he said, "will probably help bring some attention to issues that could use some more attention in Washington."

DiCaprio is chairman and emcee of the main Earth Day 2000 event on April 22, a day of activities on the National Mall here with a four-hour show featuring such luminaries as Melanie Griffith, Chevy Chase, David Crosby, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen.

Ken Sunshine, DiCaprio's spokesman, said his client "has been interested in the environment for a long time. He knows a lot about it. He's willing to use his celebrity--and he doesn't do it very easily--to raise consciousness about the incredible problems of global warming and the environment. He's willing to put his rear end on the line and his money where his mouth is."

The hard-partying 25-year-old star of "Titanic" (huge) and "The Beach" (a bit of a washout) was "the catalyst" for the ABC program, his publicist said. "He approached ABC and said, 'I'm willing to be part of something in conjunction with Earth Day if you devote a serious hour to it,' " said Sunshine. McGrady said the idea grew out of conversations between DiCaprio and his friend Chris Cuomo, a "20/20" correspondent and son of the former New York governor, who will anchor the program.

One person familiar with yesterday's half-hour sit-down said Clinton, who has often hobnobbed with Hollywood celebrities, indulged in small talk about movies and "was clearly enjoying himself."

In denying that ABC was attempting a triple pander off the high board, ABC spokeswoman Eileen Murphy stressed that the late April special, pegged to Earth Day, was not a forum for DiCaprio's environmental musings. "Don't think you'll come away from this hour and all you'll know is what Leonardo DiCaprio thinks is important about the environment," she said. "To prejudge us based on who we're working with is a bit unfair. I don't think we're uncomfortable with it in any way."

The cultures of Hollywood, journalism and politics have been in an increasingly tight mutual embrace for years. News coverage focuses more on celebrities, who lend their names to causes, which in turn attracts more TV cameras. NBC hires Fergie, the Duchess of York, as a special London correspondent for "Today." Maria Shriver, Florence Henderson and Charles Grodin become reporters or talk show hosts. Barbra Streisand gives a political speech at Harvard. The president does his thing on MTV. Bob Dole becomes a pundit for Comedy Central. Monica Lewinsky plays herself on "Saturday Night Live." But while news divisions have generally drawn the line at blatantly milking celebrities for straight, serious news programs, that line is clearly evaporating.

While ABC chose to dispatch DiCaprio, not Cuomo, to see Clinton, the network made clear he had plenty of adult supervision. "He went to the White House with our producers," Murphy said. "It was completely under the supervision of ABC News."

DiCaprio is not being paid by the network, which may not be a hardship, considering that he earned a reported $20 million for "The Beach."

Sunshine expressed surprise that news of the rendezvous between the world's most famous young actor and the leader of the Free World leaked out. To limit gawking by extraneous staffers, the White House treated the meeting as all but classified, staging the session on the patio outside the Oval Office.