"If I Did It" Not!
By Celia Wexler
Posted on Mon Nov 20, 2006 at 04:20:05 PM EST
I did not think it was possible to shame Rupert Murdoch, but I was wrong. Murdoch today canceled a Fox special on O.J. Simpson's shameless book, "If I Did It,Here's How It Happened" which was described as Simpson's account of how he would have pulled off a double murder of his wife and her friend, if, of course, he had been guilty of such a heinous crime.
The book also seems to be dead, as ReganBooks, also owned by Murdoch's News Corp, pulled out of the publishing deal, as well.
http://www.tvweek.com/news.cms?newsId=11101
Murdoch called the Simpson's gambit "an ill-considered project." But, of course, the project was considered and would have been accomplished had it not been for the American public, which rose up and said, "Enough."
The e-mails and outcries convinced Fox affiliates to announce that they would not be airing the Simpson special.
This just proves that the public can make a difference. It also makes even more crucial the upcoming fight on media ownership. The more we have independent owners of TV stations and affiliates, the more their views will count when networks push programming that is objectionable.
Tags: OJ Simpson, FOX, media and democracy (all tags)
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