“Rupert Murdoch personally ordered the dismissal of Judith Regan, the publisher of a widely criticized O. J. Simpson book, after he heard reports of a heated conversation Ms. Regan had with a company lawyer on Friday that included comments that were deemed anti-Semitic.”
Tag: 12.18.06
Regan Fights Harper Collins Firing
Harper Collins fired editor Judith Regan, but now Regan is fighting back, “hiring well-known Hollywood litigator Bert Fields. ‘They’ve chosen war and they will get exactly that. She won’t take this lying down’.”
The Pidgen Sisters – How Language Works
“The established view has been that these languages evolve independently and each is unique, whether they are based on English or Danish. But Mr. Crystal says that modern research strongly suggests that all these languages derive from a 15th-century Portuguese pidgin. As the Portuguese explored Asia, Africa and the Americas, this prototypical pidgin spread, and the syntax remained in place as words changed to adapt to other languages. But there is still evidence of that old Portuguese pidgin.”
The Book Editor Too Hot To Handle?
So Judith Regan was fired after her role in OJ’s book fiasco. Still. “It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that Ms. Regan was fired not for her legendarily difficult personality — and not, or not just, because of her longstanding rivalry with HarperCollins’ Chief Executive Officer Jane Friedman — but for her repeated affronts to the bland conformity of New York publishing.”
Outclassed – Does Class Matter In The Theatre?
“There is a huge gulf in content between the upper and lower-class shows: the top and bottom are more satisfying because they share a shameless clarity of intention. The middle way, where many of us belong, tries to appeal widely and ‘correctly’. The result is muddled and tame.”