Originally Posted - November 20, 2006

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Bowing to outrage and pressure from the American public, Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation have pulled the plug on O.J. Simpson's book and Fox-TV special "If I Did It", his hypothetical account of how he would have killed his ex-wife Nicole Brown and Ron Goldman "if he were the one responsible" for their slaying in 1994.

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

News Corporation owns both HarperCollins, the books' publisher, and Fox. The Fox interview was conducted by Judith Regan who had agreed to publish Simpson's book under Regan Books which is owned by HarperCollins. Regan said that she considered the book Simpson's confession. The contract was reportedly for $3.5 million which Regan said was to have gone to the Simpson children.

Both the book and interviews, which had been scheduled to air Nov. 27 and 29, yielded an immediate outcry from the public as well as the victims' families who said they were disgusted that Simpson was being allowed to make money from the gruesome murders of Brown and Goldman. The book would have debuted on Nov. 30.

Simpson, a former pro-football player and TV announcer, was criminally charged for the murders but acquitted following a nine month, highly publicized trial. He was later found to be civilly negligent and responsible for the murders and ordered to pay the families $33.5 million, none of which has to date been paid.

A spokeswoman for HarperCollins said some copies of the book had been shipped to bookstores but would be recalled and all copies destroyed.

More than a dozen affiliates of Fox refused to air the two-part interview which had been scheduled for the November rating sweeps and advertisers were refusing to buy time to sponsor the interview. 11-20-06

© 2006 North Country Gazette