Murdoch pulls plug on O.J. book deal

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 21, 2006 | by Jackie BurrellSTAFF

November sweeps have never been this sensational.

First came the firestorm over O.J. Simpson's new book and Fox Broadcasting's television interview, which promised to describe how he would have killed his ex-wife and friend in 1994, had he done it.

Now, Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp. owns Fox and publisher Harper Collins, has pulled the plug.

"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," Murdoch said. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

During an appearance on CNN's "Larry King Live," Fred Goldman, Ron's father, expressed appreciation to anyone whovoiced their opposition to the book and interview.

"We want to say thank you, thank you for everyone in this country who raised their voice and stood up for the right thing," Goldman said.

Simpson's attorney, Yale Galanter, told Associated Press: "We had known for three or four days that this was a possibility."

Simpson told Associated Press in a phone interview late Monday he could not comment on the situation "until I know legally where I stand."

He added, "I would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that have been mischaracterized. But I think I'm legally muzzled at this point."

It has been an intense week of public scrutiny, marked by frantic phone calls and volleys of e-mail as horrified independent booksellers discovered that the sensational, "untitled book by anonymous" that they had pre-ordered based on HarperCollins' sales reps' recommendations was O.J. Simpson's "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened."

Before Monday's developments, dozens of independent Northern California book store owners made plans to return the crates, unopened, or -- following the lead of Green Apple Books' Kevin Ryan and Rakestraw's Michael Barnard -- to donate the proceeds to domestic violence shelters.

By Monday morning, Fox personalities such as Bill O'Reilly had turned on their own company. O'Reilly called on advertisers to boycott the program.

A dozen Fox TV network affiliates had announced they would not air the two-day interview, and several said they would broadcast specials on domestic violence instead.

Now, Murdoch's decision renders all that moot. Both the book deal and the television special, slated for Nov. 28 and 29, are dead.

Reaction was muted at the Bay Area's Fox affiliate, KTVU-TV, where programming director Caroline Chang said the station was "very comfortable" with the decision.

Among booksellers, the response was stunned silence followed by chortles of disbelief and glee.

"Oh ho!" said Orinda Books' Janet Boreta, who credited the cancellation to public outcry. "Good for Rupert -- and power to the people."

"It's hard to think of Rupert Murdoch as a man of humanistic values," said Andy Ross, owner of Cody's Books. "He's probably responding to the marketplace, and the marketplace was pretty unanimously disgusted by the whole thing."

Simpson's book was the hot topic at a dinner party for booksellers Friday night -- and not in a good way, Boreta said. By Monday, more than 30 of the 240 Northern California independent booksellers, including Danville's Rakestraw, Orinda Books and Pleasanton's Towne Center Books, had announced their intention to donate any proceeds to community shelters.

Most independent stores were willing to order a copy if someone requested it, said Hut Landon of the Northern California Independent Booksellers Association, but no one was planning to put more than a book or two out. Barnard said he hoped the chains would follow the indie lead.

Berkeley's Black Oak Books and Cody's had refused to sell the book. Customers could go to a chain, Ross said, because selling the book would be tantamount to getting "blood on his hands."

"We agonized for at least five minutes," Ross said. "Should we contribute the money to a battered women's shelter? But then Judith Regan and HarperCollins (would) get their money."

Murdoch's decision has resolved the immediate issue. HarperCollins has recalled the books, some of which already had shipped, and plans to destroy them.

But many bookstore owners are still steamed over the marketing tactics Regan used. It's one thing to tout an untitled Crichton or Grisham novel. But there were no details on this at all, said Ross and Boreta, just high pressure marketing tactics and a lot of adjectives. Barnard said it felt like a "sneak attack."

Sales reps hawked the untitled, anonymous work as "'the most stunning, headline-grabbing story of the year,'" said Ross, reading aloud from a sales rep's letter. "'This book will be the talk of America.'"

"I think a lot of booksellers (were) intimidated," said Boreta, who ordered a single copy. "I shouldn't have ordered one, but maybe it was about the cure of cancer."

This isn't the first time the tactic has been applied, but it's still a rarity usually reserved for highly political non-fiction books with potentially high news value. Green Apple manager Adam Schnitzler recalled a Princess Diana tell-all book that was marketed that way -- and that none of his customers bought.