Battle breaks out inside DeLay publisher, sources say; Staffer likens editor to OJ publisherJohn Byrne
Publisher calls charges "groundless," won't deny specific claims
WASHINGTON – OJ Simpson's 'If I Did It' isn't the only unpublished book that's creating a stir in New York.
Sources deep inside Sentinel Publishing, the Penguin-owned imprint slated to release former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's "No Retreat, No Surrender" in March, tell RAW STORY a battle over the cover is being fought behind closed doors.
The current cover shows a gently smiling DeLay against a black backdrop. Penguin sources say that Senior Editor Bernadette Malone originally wanted a cover that showed DeLay alongside a flag and a cross.
"Everybody is fed up with this editor both inside the company and in the industry," said a well-placed Penguin source. "She is Penguin's Judith Regan. They don't think it is appropriate to put this book out. They view this book in the same way they view the OJ Book. This is an indicted man, driven to resign from his leadership by his own questionable actions and hubris.
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"They're looking at it purely from a bottom line point of view," said one disgruntled staffer who was critical of Malone. “The imprint is built on pure demagoguery. People are just disgusted that an indicted man is getting a platform."
Concerns that Malone’s editing is focused more on dollars than sense aren’t new. In 2005, after myriad factual errors were found in a book about Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY), Penguin went so far as to disavow itself from the accuracy of perhaps Malone’s most recognized title – Edward Klein’s “The Truth About Hillary.”
"It is the author’s responsibility to assure factual accuracy,” Penguin said in a statement published without a spokesperson’s name. Klein’s book, they said, does “not reflect the opinions and viewpoints of Penguin Group (USA) or our parent company.”
“Mr. Klein's interpretation of what he reports is unabashedly his opinion,” the firm added.
So badly was the book received that even conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh began claiming that conservatives had "nothing to do with" the book, suggesting it was a "left-wing idea" intended to "inoculate" Clinton from charges by giving the media a chance to dismiss negative claims as part of "a right-wing hatchet job."
Full Story You have GOT to read the whole article.
:rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl: :rofl:
OH WAIT! I have the perfect book cover for you, Tommy!