The BALL REPORTS

O. J. says he did it!

November 20, 2006

You know what happened?

Collective outrage grew on its own, quickly rising to a spontaneous chorus of "NO!" And the perpetrator listened.

That perpetrator was the Fox network and Regan Books -- or, more accurately, their shared parent, News Corp. And the perpetration was indeed outrageous: a TV special based on O. J. Simpson's new book, "If I Did It", which told how he "would have" committed the murder of his ex-wife and an innocent passer-by "if" he had done it. The book's editor, Judith Regan, had rationalized the book's publication by saying she considered the book Simpson's "confession" and figured the huge royalties that would come from such a book would go to his kids. Uh huh.

Way back in early 2000, a Fox network executive pledged that the network's exploitation shows are "gone, they're over." He promised to eliminate "anything that is exploitative, that reeks of desperation, anything that's merely out for ratings."

Yet here they were, ready to air a show -- during "sweeps" no less -- which gave a murderer who had beaten the system a platform to talk about how he snuffed out two lives and walked free. He "searches" for the "real killers" on any golf course that will let him in, using the liberal homesteading laws of Florida to shield his assets from seizure after losing a wrongful death suit. And OK, let's say you are one of the 1 percent of the public who doesn't think he's guilty; he'd STILL be making profit from a specific murder he was intimately involved in. "Exploitation" indeed.

Why would Simpson do it?

First, there's no worry that he'll be prosecuted again, since he was already found "not guilty" by a jury, and by law he can't be put on trial for murder again even if he swore he did it. So obviously he did it for the money. How do we know? He said so. "I made it clear that it's blood money," he said, "but it's no different than any of the other writers who did books on this case." Except the other writers didn't actually commit the murders, eh? He said the cash would be "an opportunity for my kids to get their financial legacy."

Yet even though Simpson and Regan Books and Fox were all ready to profit from that murder, the head of News Corp., Rupert Murdoch, apparently personally ordered the show off the air and the book canceled -- the latter, especially, is an unprecedented move. It's unclear whether Simpson will have to repay his advance, which is said to be as much as $3.5 million, but Simpson said he has already spent the money (so much for his kids' "legacy"!) News Corp. announced it would destroy all printed copies of the book.

As for the TV special, some Fox affiliates had already refused to air it. Others had decided to donate all the local ad time to abuse shelters, anti-violence organizations and such. Borders books had said it would donate any profits on sales of the book to charity. But it wasn't enough: public outrage grew. The chorus of "NO!" got so loud that Murdoch couldn't ignore it, even if Regan and Fox execs did, and actually apologized for his company's role in the fiasco.

And with that, the power of collective outrage was proven.

If "WE" don't say "NO!", who will?

Guest

Prior | Tell us what you think | Next

Add to Your Social Bookmarks: Del.icio.us Digg Furl Reddit Simpy Spurl Y! MyWeb - Netscape - StumbleUpon StumbleUpon