Some people might remember a book called If I Did It from 2007. For those who are unfamiliar with the name, it was a book with O.J. Simpson’s involvement that presented a “hypothetical” account of how the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman happened. Unsurprisingly, this resulted in a huge uproar at the time because a lot of people saw it as Simpson’s way of profiting from the murders of two people for which he had been found liable in a civil suit. As a result, there were people pledging to boycott the book, bookstores that pledged to not carry the book, and a wide range of other ways that people used to show their outrage.
In the end, the initial publisher HarperCollins cancelled the book, while Fox cancelled the interview with Simpson that was supposed to have been broadcast at around the same time. The book was still released, but it was released by the Goldman family, which had secured the rights to the book via a bankruptcy court in the state of Florida. The Goldman family’s version was changed that the new title of the book was If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer, with the “If” printed so small that it could be placed within the “I.” Furthermore, the Goldman family’s version featured comments from the Goldman family, the person who had ghostwritten the book, and an investigative journalist who had covered the trial of Simpson for murder. Meanwhile, the Fox interview never surfaced until now.
What Is the Interview That Will Be Broadcast?
Recently, Fox made the announcement that it will be broadcasting the interview with Simpson conducted by Judith Regan will be broadcast on March 11, having secured the permissions of both the Goldman and the Simpson families. However, the interview won’t be broadcast as it was. Instead, the program will be hosted by Soledad O’Brien, who will be offering commentary on the interview with the assistance of a panel of experts so as to provide the viewers with additional context on the contents. Besides this, it is interesting to note that the program will be broadcast with minimal interruptions in the form of advertisements, with one exception being public service announcements on the matter of domestic violence.
Curiously, Fox seems to be using the interview with Simpson as an example of counter-programming, which is when a TV network offers programming that is designed to lure viewers from a major event that is happening on some other TV network. Sometimes, the programming is connected in some manner to the event. Other times, the programming is wholly different in nature so as to enable itself to stand out that much more. In this case, Fox seems to be interested in counter-programming the revival of American Idol, which is seeing its much anticipated start-up on March 11 in the same programming block. However, while American Idol used to be broadcast on Fox, it is now being broadcast on ABC, which may or may not have factored into Fox’s decision-making in this matter.
