Monday, November 20, 2006

Fox Gets Bitch-Slapped

Unless you've been living under a rock, you're aware that Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation got into bed with O.J. "I found my ex-wife's murderer in the mirror" Simpson on a commercial venture designed to squeeze profit from a miscarriage of justice. On December 1st, HarperCollins (a wholly owned subsidary of News Corp) was going to release a book (purportedly written by O.J.) describing "hypothetically" how he would have killed his ex-wife and Ron Goldman. In the run-up to publication, there was a TV Special, a "no-holds-barred" interview to be aired over two nights. This tripe was first offered to NBC - which passed without hesitation. Apparently the higher-ups at News Corp didn't even bother to offer it to anyone else. They made an announcement late last week that Fox would carry the interview next week on the 27th and 29th. The disgust was immediate and palpable.

I wondered outloud which company (ies) would even consider sponsoring this program. Apparently the answer was ZERO. Today, Murdoch actually apologized as he cancelled BOTH the book and the TV special:

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

Perhaps Murdoch read this little tidbit from the Fox station manager in Louisville, KY as he explained his reasoning for NOT airing the proposed special:

"I have my own moral compass and this was easy," said Bill Lamb, general manager of WDRB in Louisville.

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