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Newsweek Publishes Controversial Article: "If We Did It"
Dateline New York, NY - January 15, 2007
In just the latest of many sordid turns surrounding the OJ Simpson murder case, Newsweek has
published content from OJ Simpson's cancelled book, "If I Did It", including the chapter dealing with the murders themselves. This move comes just weeks after Simpson and publisher Judith Regan were forced
to stop publication of the book after public outcry.
"Regan and News Corp. were pressured to drop the project (NEWSWEEK was among the critics) because
they were, in effect, paying Simpson...to tell how he might have committed the murders," writes
Mark Miller of Newsweek, "But Newsweek has obtained a copy of the book's key chapter from a
source who asked not to be identified because of the ongoing controversy."
When asked if Newsweek was being hypocritical by publishing excerpts from the controversial
book that Newsweek itself helped to criticise, Miller responded that "the issue that we had was
not over the content itself, but rather paying OJ for it. Since we've gotten this excerpt from
a secret confidential source, and aren't paying Mr. Simpson, then the only blood money that will
be changing hands is from people buying our magazine. Since we don't owe the Goldman's for their
son's wrongful death, then I don't see the issue."
The article, entitled "If We Did It: How Newsweek Could Have Led the Charge Against News Corp
Solely Because We Wanted Exclusive Rights to Publish the Good, Juicy Parts", is not only
a publishing of the Simpson manuscript, but also serves as a description of how the magazine could
have parlayed the public outrage over the book into an opportunity to deal a blow to a rival
corporate news giant.
"I think any assertions that we did this to spite News Corp. are absurd," said Miller, "But if we
were gonna do it, I think the article explains how it might have gone down."
Perhaps the biggest blow came to the Goldman family, already suing Simpson and Regan over the alleged
payout Simpson gained for the book, as well as the copyright, so that they might reclaim some of the
$33.5 million judgement by publishing it themselves. However, as the Newsweek article points out:
"Of course, to do that, the book would have to be printed and put on sale. Would the Goldman family really
seek to publish the book in which Simpson, hypothetically or not, describes the brutal murders? Fred
Goldman was noncommittal..."
One publisher who is not-so-non-committal, however, is Newsweek and The Washington Post Co., who are all
for publishing the book, at least the juiciest chapters, with or without putting the rest of the book on
sale.
For WNN this is Blatant Bloodwhoring reporting.
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Last Updated: August 5, 2010 Copyright 2010 - Infinity, Waldo News Network. All Rights Reserved.
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