Publisher behind O.J Simpson book fired
From Hillel Italie

NEW YORK—Extra! Extra! The press release arrived with a headline worthy of Rupert Murdoch: HARPERCOLLINS TERMINATES JUDITH REGAN. So ended, at least for now, one of the book world’s most profitable and provocative careers.
Regan, O.J. Simpson’s would-be publisher, has been fired, her sensational tenure at the Murdoch-owned HarperCollins finished off with the tersest of announcements. “Judith Regan’s employment with HarperCollins has been terminated effective immediately,” HarperCollins CEO Jane Friedman said in a statement late Friday.
“The REGAN publishing program and staff will continue as part of the HarperCollins General Books Group.” Friedman offered no reason for the decision or details of any kind. But her statement comes just weeks after Murdoch’s cancellation of Simpson’s hypothetical murder confession, “If I Did It,” a planned book and Fox television interview that Regan vehemently defended but was greeted with instant and near-universal disgust.
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. The 53-year-old Regan, a former National Enquirer reporter, has been turning out hits since the 1980s, including books by Howard Stern, Drew Barrymore and Rush Limbaugh.
But her image is as harsh as some of her writers. An industry outsider, and proud of it, Regan has been labeled a “foul-mouthed tyrant” and the “enfant terrible of American publishing.” She is also widely envied — if not admired — for attracting headlines about her books, and herself. Since 1994, she has headed the Regan Books imprint at News Corp.’s HarperCollins, an ideal fit for Murdoch’s tabloid tastes.