SCOTT SIMON, host: Judy, Judy, Judy. Judith Regan has been fired. You people will say, gee, wonder what happened. Ms. Regan, who had her own imprint at the Harper Collins Book Group, put together this year's book and television deal with O.J. Simpson, called "If I Did It," in which he described how he would have, might have, murdered Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman. Mr. Simpson was found not guilty of the killings in 1995, but skepticism persists. A civil jury later found him responsible for the crimes and ordered him to pay the victims' families $8.5 million. The public reaction to Ms. Regan's deal with O.J. Simpson was bad. Local Fox stations announced they wouldn't carry the television show promoting the book. Bookstores announced they wouldn't carry the book. Finally, Rupert Murdock, whose NewsCorp company owns Fox and Harper Collins, pulled the program and the book and apologized, calling it ill-considered.</s>SCOTT SIMON, host: Now, it would be unfair to see Judith Regan only as the editor who tried to give O.J. Simpson a break in literature. She did manage to publish a book by Jenna Jameson, the adult movie star, called "How to Make Love Like a Porn Star."
Judith Regan, who arranged O.J. Simpson's recent book deal, has been fired. The book deal — and a corresponding TV program — fell through after a barrage of negative publicity.