Woodward's Debt to Deep Throat (Sydney H. Schanberg of "The Killing Fields" tells Woodward: pay up)

The Village Voice ^ | June 21st, 2005 | Sydney H. Schanberg

[johndpringle]

Felt wanted to destroy Nixon's presidency and he used Woodward and Bernstein to do it. Felt got what he wanted from Woodward and Bernstein. Woodward promised to never reveal Felt's identity. He kept his promise. I do not think he owes Felt or his family anything other than common courtesy. It appears to me that he has been courteous to the family.

[gusopol3]

Senate Democrats

[summer]

Are you saying Sentae Dems could have been a conduit for Felt?

[summer]

Make that "Senate" Dems.

[gusopol3]

as far as it being "the truth" it was obviously a "limited hang-out" cuz he sure didn't want a careful investigation revealing the break-ins he was conducting himself.

[river rat]

Typical of leftist liberals....
They NEVER want their money to go to help others....
They want YOUR money to help others --- even their own allies, friends, parents, family, whores, bastard children, etc.....

Semper Fi

[summer]

LOL...

[gusopol3]

yes--that's what Buchanan suggested when this broke a month ago: I think he actually said the Ervin committee, but that would be putting the cart before the horse timewise.

[Dog Gone]

He didn't have to leak privileged information to a hostile press.

He could have contacted a US District Attorney and offered to provide testimony to a grand jury, or if he didn't think any of them would be receptive, he could have contacted Democrats in Congress.

The Democrats controlled Congress, and they would have gladly heard testimony that would have helped bring Nixon down.

Felt played it very coyly, orchestrating it so that the media brought Nixon down. It worked. His political agenda to destroy Nixon worked, probably better than his legal alternatives would have.

But in doing so, he made himself no better than the people he was fingering. Two wrongs don't make a right unless it involves attacking a Republican.

[pepperhead]

I'm surprised $75K is all that Felt was offered in his own book deal in this matter. (Didn't the Runaway Bride just get half a million?)

Runaway Bride isn't 90 years old and can remember what she had for lunch yesterday. Anything said to be written by Felt at this point would be highly suspect, unless he wrote down stuff years ago.

[okie01]

I'm surprised $75K is all that Felt was offered in his own book deal in this matter. (Didn't the Runaway Bride just get half a million?)

If Felt is in ill health and is suffering from dementia, he's lucky to get a $75K offer. Writing a book is hard, difficult, time consuming work. Felt is likely not up to the task and his memory is failing.

Big risks for the publisher here. On the other hand, the $75K is likely only an advance against earned royalties -- which could be substantial if the book is completed, done competently and sells well.

[RedRover]

I respectfully disagree about Woodward and Felt. I don't think it's a valid journalistic question at all.
Let's take another example. Stephen Ambrose wrote D-DAY largely based on interviews with veterans--none of whom saw a nickel but all of whom got a book. That was all Ambrose promised.
The standard that the "Killing Fields" guy is suggesting is, in my opinion, ridiculous. If applied universally (and why apply it selectively?), it would destroy nonfiction publishing because every subject would expect to share in the proceeds. This violates the First Rule and would make the subject untrustworthy.

The Willbanks deal is a whole other story. If she profits from a book, my eyebrows go up because I suspect her of committing a hoax. There are no "Son of Sam" laws in Georgia (and they've been found unconstitutional in other states anyway) but I would hope she'd be prosecuted for committing fraud.

[RedRover]

You mean without Woodward and Bernstein there would be no Geraldo Rivera, Barbara Walters, or Katie Couric?
Those Watergate guys have A LOT to answer for!

[Chode]

thank you...

[Wally_Kalbacken]

The "runaway bride" is reported to have received a $500k book/tv movie deal. What that means is not clear - because journalists do not seem to have the curiosity to learn and report more about he nature of the deal. I find it hard to believe that a $500k  non-refundable advance was made for her story - so much of which is already in the public domain. I suspect that there was some modest cash up front and a royalty deal that would allow her to earn $500k, depending on sales volume in a certain period, with different royalty rates for hard and soft cover.

I would be willing to bet this never makes it to print.

[Wally_Kalbacken]

The "runaway bride" is reported to have received a $500k book/tv movie deal. What that means is not clear - because journalists do not seem to have the curiosity to learn and report more about he nature of the deal. I find it hard to believe that a $500k  non-refundable advance was made for her story - so much of which is already in the public domain. I suspect that there was some modest cash up front and a royalty deal that would allow her to earn $500k, depending on sales volume in a certain period, with different royalty rates for hard and soft cover.

I would be willing to bet this never makes it to print.

[durasell]

Geraldo Rivera, Barbara Walters, or Katie Couric are not journalists. They're entertainers.

[gonzo]

Ah the hell with it!

Hi sweetie! ................Barry/gonzo

[Jimmy Valentine]

If Felt's family think they will ever see a dime from Woodward, they are on drugs.

No way will he give them any money.

Regards,

[summer]

LOL...Hi gonzo. :)