O.J. Simpson's Would-Be Publisher Fired

Judith Regan, Mastermind Of Planned 'If I Did It' Book, Is Fired From HarperCollins

(AP)  O.J. Simpson's would-be publisher, Judith Regan, was fired Friday, her sensational, scandalous tenure at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. ending with the tersest of announcements.

"Judith Regan's employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately," HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman said in a statement. "The REGAN publishing program and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group."

Friedman offered no reason for the announcement, but it comes less than a month after Murdoch's cancellation of Simpson's hypothetical murder confession, "If I Did It," a planned book and Fox television interview that was greeted with instant and near-universal disgust when announced.

HarperCollins did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages seeking additional comment. Messages left with Regan's publicist, Suzanne Wickham, and her lawyer, Bert Fields, were not immediately returned.

"She's a tremendously inventive publisher, but I guess she just pushed the envelope too far," said Jonathan Karp, publisher of the Warner Twelve imprint at the Hachette Book Group.

An industry force since the 1980s, when she produced best-sellers by Drew Barrymore and Kathie Lee Gifford for Simon & Schuster, Regan has been labeled a "foul-mouthed tyrant" and the "enfant terrible of American publishing." She is also widely envied — if not admired — for her gift of attracting attention to her books and to herself.

Since 1994, she has headed the ReganBooks imprint at News Corp.'s HarperCollins, an ideal fit for Murdoch's tabloid tastes. Regan has published a long list of racy best-sellers, including Jose Canseco's "Juiced" and Jenna Jameson's "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star," and is the rare publisher of interest to gossip columnists, notably for a rumored affair with former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik.

She often clashed with her more temperate peers and is widely believed to have had tense relations with Friedman. Last year, Regan moved her offices to Los Angeles, further distancing herself from corporate officials in New York.

She has long been equally interested in other media, working on numerous television projects and currently hosting a talk show on Sirius Satellite Radio.

Longtime ReganBooks author Jess Walter said he was "flabbergasted" by her firing.

"I think Judith was misunderstood by people," said Walter, a National Book Award finalist last month for his novel, "The Zero."

"The Judith I knew was nothing like the tabloid headlines," he said. "Judith has always been a good friend and one of the few people who never lied to me. Having dealt with publishing and Hollywood, I can't say that about everyone."

Regan has often complained that her more literary side has been overlooked, pointing out that she has published books by Wally Lamb, Douglas Coupland and Jess Walter. The Simpson project, announced the day before the National Book Award ceremony, quickly overshadowed Walter's nomination.

Simpson's book, said to have described how he theoretically would have committed the murders of ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman, had been scheduled for release Nov. 30 following the airing of a two-part Simpson interview.

Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995 but later found liable for the killings in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family.

Upcoming titles from ReganBooks include a memoir from former Pentagon aide Douglas Feith, an architect of the U.S. war in Iraq; and sports writer Peter Golenbock's "7: The Mickey Mantle Novel," a raunchy, fictionalized account of the baseball great that has angered some of Mantle's admirers.

[cornflower3]

she should have been fired the next day

[nynative1340]

Firing Regan was a matter of "supply and demand." She was going the supply something that the average U.S. citizen made clear that he/she did not want and would not buy.

It was a corporate decision, one that is made every day. It doesn't make any difference how 'productive' a person has been in the past: Scr*ew up and you're gone. Regan scr*ewed up, big time.

[bobgee_1999]

kevin2023
SamTheTvCat
I also agree 100%

Books don't just pop out of the air, who are these people kidding? She had to have gotten approval for this thing long before it actually happened.

But I wonder if HarperCollins will get any public flack over it, and be compelled to take her back? Of course not, but it would be an interesting act of hypocrisy: ok the book, fire the publisher, then hire her back.

[nothappyatall]

Scapegoat yes, but her wanting to publish this book was completely sickening and she DID choose to get involved with it probably knowing full well the anger it would briong forth from citizens across the country.
But firing her on a whim for her decision speaks volumes of how corporate conglomerism and the corporate good old boy network play out similar things with ordinary employees ove *ONE* tiny comment, incident or action. There's no such thing any more of reprimands or warnings, it's YOUR'RE FIRED on the first little nothing, but then what does one expect from modern corporations who "lay off" (PC term for fire) thousands of workers at Xmas time with an email notice so that their fiscal quarter looks GOOD to stock holders and their stocks increase by 60 cents a share?

[samthetvcat]

Firing her now is absolutely ridiculous. She had the complete support of Murdoch and HarperCollins up until everything was canceled. And don't think it was canceled because NewsCorp suddenly felt bad about what they were doing... it was canceled because they couldn't get any advertisers to buy ad space, and no affiliates would show it. It had nothing to do with anyone feeling like they made a mistake.

Firing Regan is a scapegoat tactic to try and regain consumer trust in the Fox/HarperCollins brand name. Yes, she made a horrible judgement call that was obscenely retarded, however... the motivations for her firing are about saving face, not about her.
Posted by kevin2023 at 11:43 AM : Dec 16, 2006

I totally agree

[kailumego1]

Censorship at its worst, she shouldn't been fired for enjoying the fruits that many Americans employ "capitalism".

I find it particularly offensive and sadistic that anyone would depredate him/herself to write or publish material that exacerbates the suffering of a grieving family, however, this isn%u2019t the first time and won%u2019t be the last.

But what is really disturbing how serial killer paraphernalia showcasing sadistic murderers like Ted Bundy, Jeffrey Dahlmer can manage to slip between the cracks of the moral consciousness of some Americans [meaning I don%u2019t see the same vehemence and outrage as with O.J.], however, these same individuals can scream to their lungs of the foul decadence of Judith Regan for doing what%u2019s natural in America, the exploitation of one%u2019s suffering to make money.

[nynative1340]

Regan may (or may not) be an excellent publisher, and she certainly has a right to publish whatever she wants.

HOWEVER, she is just another example of the excrement and muck that people will crawl into to make HEADLINES and a very quick and easy buck. Not to mention all the money she put into Simpsons pocket.

The only headline about Simpson that I want to see is "O.J. HAS DISAPPEARED--WITHOUT A TRACE!"

[kjgal]

Wow, Agnim, I actually agree with you on this one! She is an excellent publisher, the best. But I will never understand what was going through her mind when she started with the OJ mess. She said before the plug was pulled that she had hoped it would be his confession. Well, OK, but we didn't need to read every gorey detail of it. And OJ certainly didn't deserve to make any money off of his confession!
I hate they did this to her during the holidays, but I'm sure she's not going to end up on the streets! She will have no problem starting her own company if that is what she wishes to do. She has published alot of great fiction. As a huge fan of author Wally Lamb, who is way overdue a novel, any of you who love a good read and haven't read it yet, please go out and get "I KNOW THIS MUCH IS TRUE." You will not be disappointed!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!

[kevin2023]

Firing her now is absolutely ridiculous. She had the complete support of Murdoch and HarperCollins up until everything was canceled. And don't think it was canceled because NewsCorp suddenly felt bad about what they were doing... it was canceled because they couldn't get any advertisers to buy ad space, and no affiliates would show it. It had nothing to do with anyone feeling like they made a mistake.

Firing Regan is a scapegoat tactic to try and regain consumer trust in the Fox/HarperCollins brand name. Yes, she made a horrible judgement call that was obscenely retarded, however... the motivations for her firing are about saving face, not about her.

[ilonka1953]

Judith Regan has every right to publish as a writer, however.. knowing that O.J. is the only one that would really profit from it is what is troublesom..Who cares what O.J. thinks ?, I am more concerned of the chlidren and the victims families. O.J. himself is without thought for his own childern. I'm saddened for her that she was fired, but since she did not look within herself to know how wrong it would have been to proceed with this joke of a book, I'm relieved to know that someone else was intelligent enough to have taken the right action. O.J.deserves nothing, not a *** thing.