Will Simpson special end up on Internet?

Murdoch pulls the plug
Even News Corp’s Rupert Murdoch, a media king with a famous taste for scandal, couldn’t stand it anymore. On Monday, he canceled the whole thing, less than a week after it was announced.

“I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project,” Murdoch said. “We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson.”“If I Did It” had been scheduled to air as a two-part interview Nov. 27 and Nov. 29 on Fox, with the book to follow on Nov. 30. HarperCollins spokeswoman Erin Crum said some copies had already been shipped to stores but would be recalled, and all copies would be destroyed.

Simpson’s attorney, Yale Galanter, told The Associated Press: “We had known for three or four days that this was a possibility.”

“There are only three possible reactions: anger, happiness or indifference. He’s totally indifferent about the fact that it’s been canceled,” Galanter said.

He said he didn’t know if Simpson was paid upfront.

Simpson was acquitted of murder in 1995 but was later found liable for the deaths in a wrongful-death suit filed by the Goldman family. Simpson has failed to pay the $33.5 million judgment against him in the civil case. His NFL pension and his Florida home cannot legally be seized. He and the families of the victims have wrangled over the money in court for years.

Families to take legal action
Ron Goldman’s sister, Kim Goldman, said on CBS’ “The Early Show” Tuesday that the family would take legal action to collect any money Simpson received from the deal. Denise Brown went farther, saying that money was being hidden for Simpson so he didn’t have to pay the civil judgment. “The courts one day will find out who that person is,” Brown said.

FREE VIDEO Fox Faux Pas? Nov 20: Who killed Fox's OJ Simpson interview? MSNBC's Joe Scarborough asks The Center for Media and Public Affair's Mathew Felling and Bob Kohn, The Author of "Journalistic Fraud." Scarborough_Country

Simpson told the AP in a phone interview late Monday he could not comment on the situation “until I know legally where I stand.”

“I would like nothing better than to straighten out some things that have been mischaracterized,” he said. “But I think I’m legally muzzled at this point.”

Sensation has long been in News Corp’s game, but the Simpson book drew almost universal anger — from those who knew Goldman and Brown, from booksellers and advertisers, even from Fox News Channel personality Bill O’Reilly. O’Reilly urged a boycott of any company that advertised on the special.

A dozen Fox network affiliates said they would not air the two-part special, and numerous stores had either declined to sell the book or had promised to donate any profits to charity.

“I really don’t think there would have been very many advertisers who would have been willing to participate in this show,” said Brad Adgate of the ad buying firm Horizon Media.

With little advertising, Fox would miss the chance to profit from the show. If there were no advertisers, the show wouldn’t even be rated by Nielsen Media Research — so the number of people watching would have done nothing to help Fox’s season average, he said.

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