Oh, no, wait. I get it. By 'brand of journalism', what you mean is 'generic, black-and-white label, imitation journalism'.

But you're right, Teresa, the timing suggests they were trying to throw a big monkey wrench into the works when it would do the maximum damage. If you want changes made, you complain as early as possible; if you just want to screw things up, you wait until it's _almost_ too late.

I'm curious what sort of letters, if any, Fox's lawyers sent to Penguin before bringing suit. Isn't the normal process (when time permits) to notify the other party of the issue, and demand they make the appropriate changes or face a suit?

Think about it. Things turned out *so well* for Franken that the way things unfolded *couldn't be an accident.*

Fox deliberately constructed a case that it couldn't win, and that would give Franken's book a sales boost.

Because Franken *had something* on them. Something that, if made public, would deal them even worse damage.

Like photos of O'Reilly in bed with an overripe melon and an underaged borzoi.

Yes, this is in fact an implication of bad faith. Go ahead, Br'er Fox, but don' t'row me in dat dere courtroom! (Sorry, I couldn't make it come out in a German "accent".)

Are you questioning the purity of the motives of a true and loyal American like Rupert Murdoch? Oh wait...

Q:What was your first reaction upon hearing about the suit? Were you surprised?

A:I was surprised because they had first threatened to sue about two weeks after the Book Expo dust-up with what's his name, and then they didn't do anything, and the News Corp. [which owns Fox] owns Harper Collins, so they know how books work. So they waited until they knew we were printing books. That surprised me, because on the one hand that seems like a smart thing to do, because that punishes us and in a way they prevail, but it hurts their case, because that's just sitting on your hands. Especially if you're trying to get a preliminary injunction, you can't do that.

Claude: I'd wondered whether the presses were running yet when Fox filed its lawsuit. Going by the judge's remarks to Fox about how long they'd taken to file their suit after finding out about Franken's book, I'd say he spotted the implications and knew what they were up to.

From this, we may judge that Bill O'Reilly and the Fox News Network aren't nearly as deft as Karl Rove is at killing an undesirable book just as it's being published.

Jeremy, the complaint also discusses a couple letters Fox sent to Penguin and their (lack of) response. (paragraph 41)

She kept giggling last night while she was reading it. Her report so far: "It's funny. And depressing, because they've been getting away with all this crap."

(Should I put a spoiler warning on that?)

The book is a very quick read, unfortunately -- mostly because what he documents is so egregious. And Franken really isn't afraid to show himself in a bad light, which seems quite different from his detractors.

I'm waiting to see how much stock in the publisher of this book Fox News owns....

Cheers,
Tom, way too cynical this morning

Sadly, speaking from my current post as a high-level "publishing paralegal," this is how these lawsuits are written. This is how law, including publishing law, is practiced in America in the 2000s and, IMHO, nothing can be inferred from it except that Fox has lawyers.

Ask for everything. Demand everything. Cast your net as widely as possible. Don't narrow your argument to your actual cause of concern; you might miss something. Don't, for heaven's sake, try to figure out where the common meeting ground might be. Settlements are about money, not solutions.

(I do feel the need to say that I work with a magnificent and extraordinarily experienced publishing lawyer who is Not Like The Above at all--but nonetheless that's the prevailing culture.)

"...after the Book Expo dust-up with what's his name,..."

Subtlely vicious comedy, thy name is Franken.

When I read that Franken's chapter on O'Reilly is entitled "Lying, Splotchy Bully", I laughed uncontrollably for about ten minutes. Unsubtlely vicious comedy, thy name is Franken.

I'm going to have to get this book.

Cheers,
Tom, way too cynical this morning"

Yes, you were way too cynical that morning. Franken's book was published by Dutton, an imprint of Viking Penguin, part of the Pearson group, which is certainly not even partly owned by Rupert Murdoch.