Sawyer lands Lynch interview

The locket worked, but so did the patriotic books.

ABC’s Diane Sawyer won the frenzy to do the first TV interview with former prisoner of war Jessica Lynch, which will air in November as a special edition of “Primetime,” followed the next morning by an interview with NBC’s “Today” show co-anchor Katie Couric.

To gain the attention of Lynch and her media advisors, Sawyer accompanied her interview request with a locket that featured a photo of Lynch’s family home; Couric sent the books. Other networks also sent blandishments to woo Lynch, who was captured in Iraq.

Sawyer’s taped interview with Lynch and her family is expected to air Nov. 11, on the eve of the publication of her authorized biography, “I Am a Soldier, Too,” which is being written by former New York Times reporter Rick Bragg and published by Alfred A. Knopf. Couric’s interview, which may run over several days, is expected to start Nov. 12.

-- Elizabeth Jensen