Judith’s Blinding Light
When Judith Regan moved her imprint to Los Angeles, she made it clear she wanted to do tie-ins, books associated with television events, books that played to the popular culture. She wanted to redefine the way books and current events were presented to a mass audience. After all, headlines move fast. If Jimmy Olson were a cub reporter today, he’d probably be at a local television station, not the Daily Planet. Then again Jimmy might work for ReganBooks, writing copy for a celebrity weight lifter, bounty hunter, sous-chef. Jimmy might find that life with Ms. Regan moves faster than a speeding bullet.
She went three thousand miles to find OJ. He wasn’t missing, he sat atop the cultural slagheap of tarnished celebrity. OJ escaped justice but his freedom was vaccum locked by both his actions and the public perception that he’d gotten away with murder. OJ’s next headline would be an obituary. The collective consciousness would have one less fly buzzing around the room.
Hollywood execs are blown away by the brilliance of OJ’s hypothetical confession, the television tie-in, sweeps week, faltering ratings for Fox and, of course, by the book. Book sellers had to order the title without knowing the name of the author. Perhaps someone feared a backlash. Bill O’Reilly called the OJ book “a new low.” That remains to be seen. Entertainment that defiles honest emotion will always seek its own level. Meanwhile our cub reporter can only marvel at the genius on display. Read all about it.