'The Interview': Tina Brown on Epstein, the Über-Rich and Her Most Burning Resentments

What It Covers

Tina Brown, former editor of Vanity Fair and The New Yorker, discusses Jeffrey Epstein's social network, Prince Andrew's downfall, the decline of elite media gatekeepers, and her unfiltered observations on power and wealth.

Key Questions Answered

• •Epstein's Social Protection: When Brown published early Epstein exposés at Daily Beast in 2010, stories failed to gain traction because Me Too movement hadn't yet shifted cultural attitudes toward powerful men's abuse of women, demonstrating how timing determines accountability.
• •Royal Family Vulnerability: Peripheral royals like Prince Andrew become susceptible to corruption because they possess influence and cache without independent wealth, creating pay-for-play scenarios that damage the monarchy—a pattern William plans to address by reducing royal housing and increasing financial transparency.
• •Media Gatekeepers' Value: The elimination of editorial gatekeepers with taste and authority has created information overload where brilliant writing exists but remains undiscoverable, leaving audiences exhausted and checking out rather than engaged with quality journalism in the fragmented digital landscape.
• •Billionaire Media Disrespect: Tech billionaires purchasing media properties demonstrate zero respect for journalism as a profession, treating it as a commodity rather than learning the craft first—unlike how journalists would approach engineering or technology fields with appropriate humility and study.