Paris Hilton. I never thought I’d type that name here, but I’m always intrigued by what works in the mainstream media.

Sydney Australia media outlets are going nuts over P Hilton. She’s there on a PR junket to promote a beer. Blondes and Beers obviously works just fine down under. via the Sydney Morning Herald…

Estimates put the figure…paid Ms Hilton at $US350,000 ($440,000). But once the cost of putting on the various events, flights, accommodation, security and her entourage is factored in it is likely to be in the region of $1 million…

The media index manager at Media Monitors, Patrick Baume, said the Hilton circus was a media success. “She was basically a visual story,” he said. The story managed 163 press articles, 302 mentions on radio and featured in 2337 TV items, bringing the total cumulative TV audience to 16 million.

So what does this tell us about mainstream media ?