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By WILLIAM BOOTH AND LISA DE MORAE, The Washington Post
? November 19, 2006
LOS ANGELES ? Several TV stations affiliated with the Fox network ? including the one in Norfolk ? have been ordered not to broadcast a controversial interview with O.J. Simpson, whose new book describes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend, if he?d done it.
The two-part, two-hour TV interview is scheduled to be aired on the Fox network Nov. 27 and 29 and was conducted by publisher Judith Regan. The show will run before the Nov. 30 release date of Simpson?s pseudo-confessional tome, ?If I Did It,? a book published by Regan-Books, a division of Harper-Collins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch?s News Corp.
LIN TV Corp., which owns WVBT-TV in Norfolk as well as Fox affiliates in such markets as Providence, R.I.; Mobile, Ala.; and Toledo, Ohio, issued the order to its stations Friday. California-based Pappas Telecasting Co., which owns four Fox stations, did the same.
?Our company feels very strongly that there is no beneficial interest to the airing of this program except to O.J. Simpson, and we have no desire to benefit O.J. Simpson,? said Pappas? Mike Angellos, vice president of corporate communications.
Doug Davis, president and general manager of WVBT and its sister station and NBC affiliate, WAVY-TV, did not return phone calls Saturday night seeking comment.
The decisions came as outrage mounted about both the book and Fox?s interview.
Geoff Shandler, editor in chief of Little, Brown and Co., said Friday, ?It?s so outrageous and flamboyant and audacious that part of you almost laughs while the other part of you wants to puke.?
P O L L
Should Fox TV stations air the interview with O.J. Simpson regarding his "If I Did It" book?
Yes
No
Undecided
View results
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A Fox spokesman contacted Friday declined comment regarding the special.
Simpson is no stranger to public outrage. But it appears that much of the condemnation was directed at Fox and Regan, with questions about who will ultimately profit from the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, whose throats were slashed in Brentwood, Calif., on the night of June 12, 1994, at her home.
Regan, 53, is also no stranger to controversy. The publisher is a source of gossip, envy and disdain among her colleagues and competitors. She got her start in publishing as a reporter for the National Enquirer, and is now an industry powerhouse.
?Who else has the combination of nerve, foresight and soullessness to publish a book by O.J. Simpson,? Sara Nelson, editor of Publishers Weekly, wrote in an online editorial.
?Judith Regan is a very smart and very savvy publisher,? Nelson said later in an interview. ?But this is just different. This is just ?? She searched for a description. ?This is just really awful.?
The cover of Simpson?s book features a picture of the former National Football League star. The portion of the title ?I Did It? is in blood-red ink and the word ?If? is in white.
As of Friday evening, the book was ranked No. 22 on Amazon?s best-seller list, though it will not be released until the end of the month. Amazon users tagged the product with the words ?shameful,? ?disgusting,? ?murderer? and ?pathetic.?
Regan did not return phone calls on Friday, nor did her publicist. HarperCollins would not comment on the book. In a statement, Regan said she secured the book deal after being approached by a ?third party? representing Simpson, whom she did not reveal.
In a prominent criminal trial, Simpson was found not guilty. He later was found responsible for the deaths in a civil trial and was ordered to pay the Brown and Goldman families $33.5 million, only a fraction of which has been paid.
Simpson lives in Florida, where his home is protected from seizure, and he receives a pension from the NFL worth about $400,000 a year.
In a statement issued Thursday, Regan described herself as a victim when she said the media ?have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him,? something she called a double standard.
Regan continued, ?A death, I might add, not called for when Katie Couric interviewed him; not called for when Barbara Walters had an exclusive with the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in cold blood ? not called for when ?60 Minutes? interviewed Timothy McVeigh, who murdered hundreds in Oklahoma City.?
Among the more creative ways of dealing with a public relations disaster, a Fox station in Seattle has promised that if it airs the interview, it will not sell local ads. Instead it will help tape public service announcements for local organizations that aid victims of domestic abuse, which will run in place of local ads.
USER COMMENTS
Comments 1 - 10 of 26 View All Comments
OJ........needs money? Bold! (hide comment)
The only time I ever want to hear his name again is never! What a slap in the face to both familys!!!
- marg w. - norfolk OJ........needs money? Bold! (view comment)
I don't believe.... (hide comment)
that I just read a post that included the phrase "racial bias". This just put it over the top. Orenthal James Simpson had his time in the public window (just like all of the other murderers listed) and it is over, or should be at least. The race card is a cop-out. Try looking at the real issues......the fact that this man is a sick immoral individual that killed the mother of his children (allegedly of course), and the fact that this doesn't deserve the 3 minutes 43 seconds that it took me to type this.
- Danny S. - Portsmouth I don't believe.... (view comment)
Bobbit vs Simpson (hide comment)
The difference between a show about Lorenna Bobbit or Charles Manson is that they were a) Found Guilty and b) Not the ones profitting from the documentary/interview being aired. OJ Simpson is the one who is profitting from the publicity, a man who found innocent in criminal, guilty by civil, and the media has hounded for years. My personal opinion I don't care, I'm not going to watch it if it airs so I don't care if it shows.
- Megan J. - Virginia Beach Bobbit vs Simpson (view comment)
Show it (hide comment)
Let it run if you don't want to watch it then turn the channel. After all a jury of his peers found him not guilty?
- Mark B. - chesapeake Show it (view comment)
Censorship (hide comment)
I wouldn't watch the show and I encourage others NOT to watch it if were aired. My biggest concern is who is deciding what I can and cannot watch. The public has the right to decide by the channel changer what to watch. I think it is ridicules that he would be allowed to profit from past deeds and more ridicules for those that sought him out to initiate this action. Show it who cares-if it bothers you just don't watch it, I know I won't.
- Ken S. - Smithfield Censorship (view comment)
I don't care to hear his story (hide comment)
We already know too much about this sordid story. Who really cares about his comments? Is it really of any value to us in Hampton Roads? The story of OJ and the murder needs to go away now.
- Leslie F. - Norfolk I don't care to hear his story (view comment)
"Found to be innocent" (hide comment)
I agree with those on this board, that the interview should not be aired, and that OJ has had his say numerous times already. The book is just a shameless plug and will generate money from the horrific deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. The person who mentioned that Nicole had no pristine memory to protect, makes it sound as if she deserved to be brutally murdered. If OJ didn't do it, then who did? I was living in LA at the time, and it was a media circus, a media zoo! Practically everyone involved tried to get their 15 minutes of fame, which in my opinion, was tasteless, crude, insane, disrespectful, and degernate. The same goes for the author of the book, OJ, and Amazon. I would not give him a minute of fame, a second of my time. Trust me, he's not hurting financially at all. And if he's so hell-bent on finding the real killer, why haven't we heard anything in the past 10+ years? All he has to do, is look in the mirror!
- John Pycior - Virginia Beach "Found to be innocent" (view comment)
what about the victims family (hide comment)
Please don't air this interview.Why should you cause these familys more heartache than they already have.I'm sure you can find someone far better to interview.
- rosemarie g. - norfolk what about the victims family (view comment)
Is this not racial bias? (hide comment)
TV station decides not to air O.J interview but I'm sure you had no problem airring movies about the Menendez brothers killing their parents, or about Larainna Bobbit choping off her husband private parts and what about Jon Bene Ramey OLD news we are still hearing about, and Guess What her parents were Found Innocent? This goes out to all those Americans who think people only want to hear about White people who committed terrible crimes. Some of them got away with it or not and others just got a slap on the wrist. If its what being talked about then its what the public wants to know.
- Maria Hernadez - suffolk Is this not racial bias? (view comment)
The trial is over this is about money (hide comment)
This is about money... If any is made it should go to the courts for his debt in the civil trial...which he lost and owes lots of money for... he should not see a penny of his book sells and if you ask me only a disturb person would buy this book anyway .....just talking about this puts him in the spot light again which he cant live with out and enjoys
- barney chambers - norf The trial is over this is about money (view comment)
? November 19, 2006
LOS ANGELES ? Several TV stations affiliated with the Fox network ? including the one in Norfolk ? have been ordered not to broadcast a controversial interview with O.J. Simpson, whose new book describes how he would have killed his ex-wife and her friend, if he?d done it.
The two-part, two-hour TV interview is scheduled to be aired on the Fox network Nov. 27 and 29 and was conducted by publisher Judith Regan. The show will run before the Nov. 30 release date of Simpson?s pseudo-confessional tome, ?If I Did It,? a book published by Regan-Books, a division of Harper-Collins, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch?s News Corp.
LIN TV Corp., which owns WVBT-TV in Norfolk as well as Fox affiliates in such markets as Providence, R.I.; Mobile, Ala.; and Toledo, Ohio, issued the order to its stations Friday. California-based Pappas Telecasting Co., which owns four Fox stations, did the same.
?Our company feels very strongly that there is no beneficial interest to the airing of this program except to O.J. Simpson, and we have no desire to benefit O.J. Simpson,? said Pappas? Mike Angellos, vice president of corporate communications.
Doug Davis, president and general manager of WVBT and its sister station and NBC affiliate, WAVY-TV, did not return phone calls Saturday night seeking comment.
The decisions came as outrage mounted about both the book and Fox?s interview.
Geoff Shandler, editor in chief of Little, Brown and Co., said Friday, ?It?s so outrageous and flamboyant and audacious that part of you almost laughs while the other part of you wants to puke.?
P O L L
Should Fox TV stations air the interview with O.J. Simpson regarding his "If I Did It" book?
Yes
No
Undecided
View results
Latest Videos
Random Objects Can Make For Some Interesting Art
Video Essay: USS Enterprise dads meet their newborns
Gunman Storms German High School
Offbeat Auditions for 'Blue Man' Drummer
School Bus Plunges Off Interstate, 2 Dead
Casual Games Draw Serious Profit
See the complete Pilot, exactly as in print
- View stories, photos and ads
- E-mail clippings
- Print copies
Log in or learn more
A Fox spokesman contacted Friday declined comment regarding the special.
Simpson is no stranger to public outrage. But it appears that much of the condemnation was directed at Fox and Regan, with questions about who will ultimately profit from the deaths of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman, whose throats were slashed in Brentwood, Calif., on the night of June 12, 1994, at her home.
Regan, 53, is also no stranger to controversy. The publisher is a source of gossip, envy and disdain among her colleagues and competitors. She got her start in publishing as a reporter for the National Enquirer, and is now an industry powerhouse.
?Who else has the combination of nerve, foresight and soullessness to publish a book by O.J. Simpson,? Sara Nelson, editor of Publishers Weekly, wrote in an online editorial.
?Judith Regan is a very smart and very savvy publisher,? Nelson said later in an interview. ?But this is just different. This is just ?? She searched for a description. ?This is just really awful.?
The cover of Simpson?s book features a picture of the former National Football League star. The portion of the title ?I Did It? is in blood-red ink and the word ?If? is in white.
As of Friday evening, the book was ranked No. 22 on Amazon?s best-seller list, though it will not be released until the end of the month. Amazon users tagged the product with the words ?shameful,? ?disgusting,? ?murderer? and ?pathetic.?
Regan did not return phone calls on Friday, nor did her publicist. HarperCollins would not comment on the book. In a statement, Regan said she secured the book deal after being approached by a ?third party? representing Simpson, whom she did not reveal.
In a prominent criminal trial, Simpson was found not guilty. He later was found responsible for the deaths in a civil trial and was ordered to pay the Brown and Goldman families $33.5 million, only a fraction of which has been paid.
Simpson lives in Florida, where his home is protected from seizure, and he receives a pension from the NFL worth about $400,000 a year.
In a statement issued Thursday, Regan described herself as a victim when she said the media ?have all but called for my death for publishing his book and for interviewing him,? something she called a double standard.
Regan continued, ?A death, I might add, not called for when Katie Couric interviewed him; not called for when Barbara Walters had an exclusive with the Menendez brothers, who killed their parents in cold blood ? not called for when ?60 Minutes? interviewed Timothy McVeigh, who murdered hundreds in Oklahoma City.?
Among the more creative ways of dealing with a public relations disaster, a Fox station in Seattle has promised that if it airs the interview, it will not sell local ads. Instead it will help tape public service announcements for local organizations that aid victims of domestic abuse, which will run in place of local ads.
USER COMMENTS
Comments 1 - 10 of 26 View All Comments
OJ........needs money? Bold! (hide comment)
The only time I ever want to hear his name again is never! What a slap in the face to both familys!!!
- marg w. - norfolk OJ........needs money? Bold! (view comment)
I don't believe.... (hide comment)
that I just read a post that included the phrase "racial bias". This just put it over the top. Orenthal James Simpson had his time in the public window (just like all of the other murderers listed) and it is over, or should be at least. The race card is a cop-out. Try looking at the real issues......the fact that this man is a sick immoral individual that killed the mother of his children (allegedly of course), and the fact that this doesn't deserve the 3 minutes 43 seconds that it took me to type this.
- Danny S. - Portsmouth I don't believe.... (view comment)
Bobbit vs Simpson (hide comment)
The difference between a show about Lorenna Bobbit or Charles Manson is that they were a) Found Guilty and b) Not the ones profitting from the documentary/interview being aired. OJ Simpson is the one who is profitting from the publicity, a man who found innocent in criminal, guilty by civil, and the media has hounded for years. My personal opinion I don't care, I'm not going to watch it if it airs so I don't care if it shows.
- Megan J. - Virginia Beach Bobbit vs Simpson (view comment)
Show it (hide comment)
Let it run if you don't want to watch it then turn the channel. After all a jury of his peers found him not guilty?
- Mark B. - chesapeake Show it (view comment)
Censorship (hide comment)
I wouldn't watch the show and I encourage others NOT to watch it if were aired. My biggest concern is who is deciding what I can and cannot watch. The public has the right to decide by the channel changer what to watch. I think it is ridicules that he would be allowed to profit from past deeds and more ridicules for those that sought him out to initiate this action. Show it who cares-if it bothers you just don't watch it, I know I won't.
- Ken S. - Smithfield Censorship (view comment)
I don't care to hear his story (hide comment)
We already know too much about this sordid story. Who really cares about his comments? Is it really of any value to us in Hampton Roads? The story of OJ and the murder needs to go away now.
- Leslie F. - Norfolk I don't care to hear his story (view comment)
"Found to be innocent" (hide comment)
I agree with those on this board, that the interview should not be aired, and that OJ has had his say numerous times already. The book is just a shameless plug and will generate money from the horrific deaths of Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman. The person who mentioned that Nicole had no pristine memory to protect, makes it sound as if she deserved to be brutally murdered. If OJ didn't do it, then who did? I was living in LA at the time, and it was a media circus, a media zoo! Practically everyone involved tried to get their 15 minutes of fame, which in my opinion, was tasteless, crude, insane, disrespectful, and degernate. The same goes for the author of the book, OJ, and Amazon. I would not give him a minute of fame, a second of my time. Trust me, he's not hurting financially at all. And if he's so hell-bent on finding the real killer, why haven't we heard anything in the past 10+ years? All he has to do, is look in the mirror!
- John Pycior - Virginia Beach "Found to be innocent" (view comment)
what about the victims family (hide comment)
Please don't air this interview.Why should you cause these familys more heartache than they already have.I'm sure you can find someone far better to interview.
- rosemarie g. - norfolk what about the victims family (view comment)
Is this not racial bias? (hide comment)
TV station decides not to air O.J interview but I'm sure you had no problem airring movies about the Menendez brothers killing their parents, or about Larainna Bobbit choping off her husband private parts and what about Jon Bene Ramey OLD news we are still hearing about, and Guess What her parents were Found Innocent? This goes out to all those Americans who think people only want to hear about White people who committed terrible crimes. Some of them got away with it or not and others just got a slap on the wrist. If its what being talked about then its what the public wants to know.
- Maria Hernadez - suffolk Is this not racial bias? (view comment)
The trial is over this is about money (hide comment)
This is about money... If any is made it should go to the courts for his debt in the civil trial...which he lost and owes lots of money for... he should not see a penny of his book sells and if you ask me only a disturb person would buy this book anyway .....just talking about this puts him in the spot light again which he cant live with out and enjoys
- barney chambers - norf The trial is over this is about money (view comment)
