mimo2005

NEW YORK — News Corp., the parent company of book publisher HarperCollins and the FOX network, has canceled publication of the O.J. Simpson book and television special "If I Did It."

"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."

A dozen FOX affiliates had already said they would not air the two-part sweeps month special, planned for next week before the book's publication.

The industry trade publication Broadcasting & Cable editorialized against the show Monday, saying "FOX should cancel this evil sweeps stunt."

One of the nation's largest superstore chains, Borders Group Inc., said last week it would donate any profits on the book to charity.
Last week, Judith Regan, would-be publisher of Simpson's book, said she did not pay Simpson for the rights to publish his book, in which the one-time football superstar tells how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend if, in fact, he had done it.

"What I do know is I didn't pay him," Regan said in an eight-page statement titled "Why I Did It" and released on Thursday. "I contracted through a third party who owns the rights, and I was told the money would go to his children. That much I could live with."

• Raw Data: Judith Regan Statement: 'Why I Did It'

Regan also said in the statement that she wanted Simpson's "confession" because she herself was once a victim of abuse.

"I made the decision to publish this book, and to sit face to face with the killer, because I wanted him, and the men who broke my heart and your hearts, to tell the truth, to confess their sins, to do penance and to amend their lives."

Although Regan has acknowledged that Simpson does not directly say that he killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman, she said she considers the book to be his confession.

Regan said Simpson approached her with the idea for the book, which reportedly was sold for $3.5 million.

After word of the book emerged, Regan said she's watched as the media "have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him."

"To publish does not mean 'to endorse'; it means 'to make public,"' she said.

"If you doubt that, ask the mainstream publishers who keep Adolf Hitler's 'Mein Kampf' in print to this day. ... There is historical value in such work ... for anyone who wants to gain insight into the mind of a sociopath."

"If I Did It," which was to be published by ReganBooks — an imprint to HarperCollins, was scheduled for release Nov. 30. FOX had planned to air a two-part TV interview of Simpson on Nov. 27 and 29.

Simpson was acquitted of the murders in 1995, but was later found criminally liable for the deaths in civil court in 1997.

Although he was ordered to pay $33.5 million in damages to the Goldman family, Simpson has avoided making full restitution because California law prevents his NFL pension from being seized to satisfy the judgment. His lavish residence in Florida is similarly protected under state law.




http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,230838,00.html






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