By Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
Its been widely reported that Bill Keller the Executive Editor of The New York Times doesnt like Fox News - and has utter contempt for its conservative audience. He makes no bones about it. According to Keller those who watch FoxNews are among the most cynical people on planet Earth.
Now it turns out that he doesnt like books written by FoxNews contributors. So on Sunday -for the first time since the New York Times Bestsellers List first appeared in 1942 best selling political books will not appear in the Hardcover Non-Fiction List. Instead those books will be relegated to the Advice How-To and Miscellaneous List along with The 4 Hour Body and Weight Watchers New Cookbook.
That is if the author is a FoxNews contributor.
Talk about giving cynicism a new meaning!
On Sunday the following books will appear on the Advice list:
2. Simple Government Mike Huckabee
3. Revolt! Dick Morris & Eileen McGann
6. Win Frank Luntz
What do those authors have in common? Just one thing: Huckabee Morris &Luntz are all FoxNews contributors. (McGann is just a cynical FoxNews watcher!)
Last week the Wall Street Journal listed Simple Government as #3 and Revolt! As #5 bestselling non-fiction books in the country (including Advice books!). That was based on Nielsen point-of-sale data. But that was too much for The Times - two FoxNews contributors in the top 10 of all non-fiction books sold. So The Times decided to cook the list.
By the way the Advice List was started in 1984 because too many how-to books were showing up on the Hardcover Non-Fiction Best Sellers List.
Apparently too many Fox News Contributors are crowding up the hardcover best seller list so theyve been thrown downstairs.
The ghettoization of the Foxnews books inside the How To list has an important impact on sales. It means that many stores wont put Revolt! Simple Government and Win up front with the best sellers but will assign them shelf space back with cookbooks marital advice and diet books. We hope you ferret them out anyway and show the Times the limits of its power.
The New York Times is once again showing its liberal bias in overtly politicizing the best sellers list. Conservatives and FoxNews commentators need not apply. Now its not just the news thats way over left its the best sellers too.
And the motto of The Times is All the News Thats Fit To Print. Talk about cynical.
But maybe theres another reason for Kellers uncontrollable animosity towards FoxNews and Rupert Murdock. Since Keller took the helm things have not been looking too good at The Times. Circulation dropped by more than 10 - and profits were down 26 in the last quarter of 2010. Meanwhile Murdocks Wall Street Journal continues to grow. With a circulation of over 2000000 and a new Metro section in direct competition with The Times the WSJ is the undisputed star of the newspaper world.
Could that be why Bill Kellers so obsessed with FoxNews and the Murdock Empire?
