In war, the victors take pride not only in their accomplishments on the battle field, but also for their acquisitions in resources. Dubbed the "spoils of war," the valuable belongings of the defeated enrich the new

 dominant force.



Last week, the world received news that Joran Van der Sloot exacted new horror in the murder of the young, attractive, and innocent Stephany Flores in Peru. Having failed in his attempt to evade authorities in Chile, Van der Sloot was arrested before a watchful media. With evidence mounted against him including the baseball bat murder weapon, video evidence of the couple together, and the hotel room assigned to his name, it must have become obvious to Van der Sloot that he would not be able to escape his guilt as he had done in the case of American Natalie Holloway five years earlier in Aruba.



In the wake of the Holloway disappearance, Van der Sloot has conducted numoerous interviews throughout the world. But he didn't interview with just any news agency that had questions, rather he interviewed with top news brands like FoxNews, ABC News, and the BBC. These interviews with the likes of Greta Van Susteren were given primetime television spots and were advertised as "exclusive."



News stations like any television program make money primarily via advertising revenue. The more viewership for a particular show allows television companies to charge advertisers more money to run ads during that program. For example, Jerry Seinfeld made millions of dollars per episode because his show had a significantly large audience.



News stations work in much the same way. To earn high revenues, stations will contract with popular people like Van der Sloot and obtain the "exclusive" nature of the interview. These contracts however are not cheap. Van der Sloot was paid handsomely for his interviews. Like other guests, he likely arrived to the interview flying first class, stayed at expensive hotels, and ate at fancy restaurants with all expenses paid by the news corporation conducting the interview.