Posted on 08/12/2007 10:13:49 AM PDT by freespirited
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards recently defended taking a lucrative book contract from a publisher controlled by Rupert Murdoch -- whose News Corp. empire Edwards has sharply criticized -- by insisting that “every dime” of his $500,000 advance went to charity.
Left unmentioned by Edwards, however, was that Murdoch’s HarperCollins paid portions of a $300,000 expense budget for the book to Edwards’s daughter and to a senior political aide, Jonathan Prince.
The sums paid to Cate Edwards and Prince, who are listed as co-authors on the little-noticed 2006 coffee table book, "Home: The Blueprints of Our Lives," have not been made public, but were confirmed by two sources with first-hand knowledge of the book deal.
These and other details of the deal that have spilled out in recent weeks demonstrate both the complexity of Edwards' transformation into an anti-corporate crusader, and of Murdoch's double role as a corporate titan and political player.
Murdoch's position as the backer of such conservative News Corp. outlets, from the Fox News Channel's popular prime-time talk shows to the Weekly Standard magazine, has long angered some on the left, but Edwards was the first of the Democratic presidential candidates to join liberal activists in a successful effort to shut down a Democrat presidential debate that was to be televised on Fox.
"The time has come for Democrats to stop pretending to be friends with the very people who demonize the Democratic Party," he said recently in a statement that referred explicitly to Murdoch, News Corp.'s chairman and CEO.
Edwards' harsh words drew the reminder -- reported in News Corp.'s New York Post -- that Edwards himself had done business with the media conglomerate. HarperCollins printed "Home," which describes John Edwards as the editor and gives author's credits to Prince and to 25-year-old Cate Edwards.
The book, a News Corp. executive confirmed, in part of the company's sharp-edged response to Edwards' criticism, brought Edwards a $500,000 advance and $300,000 in expenses. It was an extraordinary amount, publishing industry sources say, for a book of its type, and nowhere near recouped by what have turned out to be modest sales.
"It's a sweet deal," said Frances Goldin, a New York literary agent, after learning of the advance and expenses. "Maybe he's got a friend at HarperCollins."
Murdoch and his company have made a habit of doing favors to politicians. If Edwards got a good deal on his book, it was pocket change compared to the $4.5 million advance HarperCollins offered former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at the height of his power.
The company has also published books by Republican Senators Trent Lott, Arlen Specter, and Chuck Hagel and Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. (The website Gawker offered the headline: "News Corp.: 'News Corp. Book Contracts Aren't Donations Unless We Give Them To Democrats Who Don't Like Us.'")
"Every dime of the money they gave to me has gone to charity," Edwards told CNN's Wolf Blitzer earlier this month, suggesting News Corp. was trying to "silence" him because he opposes media consolidation. "This is a personal attack in response to me saying something that is not personal: I do not believe we should consolidate the media."
His spokesman, Eric Schultz, said the charities include Habitat for Humanity and College for Everyone. Edwards did not mention the previously unreported fees to Prince and to Edwards' daughter.
Most of the contributors of the book's 57 short essays on childhood homes were unpaid, though the expense budget also paid for the book's design and for licensing some of the photographs and text, people familiar with the book said.
An earth colored, cloth bound 176-page volume, "Home" sprung directly from Edwards' 2004 presidential campaign. It was inspired, a Democrat who was close to Edwards' aides said, by perhaps his most successful campaign ad, shot in front of his modest childhood home.
In the acknowledgements, Edwards singled out for thanks his longtime pollster, Harrison Hickman, "whose original insight into the power the memory of first homes has for so many people helped inspire this book."
The text is carefully assembled, and heartfelt. People familiar with its assembly said that both Prince and Cate Edwards put many hours of work into the project, and the book seems to reflect that work.
It's a collection of short essays by ordinary Americans and famous figures from former Senator Bob Dole, General Tommy Franks, and political consultant Donna Brazile to the actor Benicio del Toro and the pastor Rick Warren on the topic of their childhood homes.
"Home is family. Home is safety. Home is faith," Edwards wrote in his introduction.
But when the ubiquitous Washington lawyer and agent Robert Barnett circulated the proposal to publishers, it was not met with much interest. Simon & Schuster, publisher of Edwards' previous book, a memoir called "Four Trials," had an option to publish his second book, a publishing industry source said, but showed little enthusiasm for "Home."
Two of the editors to whom Barnett sent the book's proposal said they were surprised to learn of the $500,000 advance and $300,000 expense budget.
"I was surprised that it sold it all, and I'm astonished at the amount it went for," said one of the editors. "It's inconceivable that you would pay $800,000 for this book."
"We wouldn't have offered half that," said another.
The book was sold to HarperCollins without an auction after that publishing house showed decidedly more interest than any other, a person familiar with the book's sale said.
The person said the Edwards campaign dealt with editor Joe Tessitore and HarperCollins President and CEO Jane Friedman (who didn't respond to calls and emails seeking comment), but never with Murodch.
The doubters, however, appear to have been validated by the book's sluggish sales. Nielsen Bookscan, which is thought to account for between 60% and 70% of domestic sales, reports that it has sold about 20,000 copies so far, and thus perhaps about 30,000 overall.
Publishing economics are notoriously murky, but with a cover price of $29.95, those sales might have earned back roughly $100,000 royalties, a fraction of the $500,000 advance, publishing industry sources said.
Indeed, the book's gross sales, at full price, would have roughly covered Edwards' advance and expenses -- and publishers usually net roughly half of that gross sum, and then pay authors a relatively small percentage of that net.
The episode demonstrates two sides of News Corp.'s unique, among major American corporations, willingness to act as much like a political player as a stolid corporation.
The deal might have inspired some goodwill on the part of Edwards. But the company, when criticized, pivoted quickly to using the arrangement against the candidate.
It turned to its own news outlets to attack Edwards and to disclose the details of his advance -- a figure HarperCollins fought fiercely to keep private in another recent case, the planned book by O.J. Simpson about his wife's murder.
A News Corp. executive would not speak on the record, but said the arrangement demonstrates that Edwards' opposition to media consolidation, and to the conservative Fox News Channel, is a newfound political stance.
"My guess is he had no reservations about doing business with us, just as he had no reservations about appearing dozens of times on Fox News or putting his website up on MySpace," said the executive, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
News Corp. is holding back an additional card to play against Edwards: It hasn't released the details of the book's expenses, but presumably could.
However, Schultz said that the company's wrath wouldn't muffle Edwards' criticism. He has continued to criticize News Corp. on the stump, if in sometimes more abstract terms of media consolidation.
"The point of this is that I don't want to see Rupert Murdoch -- or anybody else for that matter – owning every --newspaper in America," he said on CNN.
"This latest attack from the New York Post, a tool of Murdoch, proves our point [about the dangers of media consolidation] better than we could ourselves," said Schultz.
Obviously, for the Edwards family — charity begins at home.
In a BIG way!
Phony sonuvabitch....
The Breck Girl has no more character than the Arkansas Grifters. The only surprise is that Silky Pony, Shrillery, and the Stainmaster can still be taken seriously by anyone at all. No, on 2nd thought, there’s really no surprise there....
Perhaps her nickname is “Charity”.
I guess this just illustrates Johnny boy’s “two America” one America-lying scumbags and the other-hard working, honest folk.
Yep.
>>>I guess this just illustrates Johnny boy’s “two America” one America-lying scumbags and the other-hard working, honest folk.<<<
There’s Breck-girl’s America, and the one the rest of us live in. :)
Silky Pony and Hussein Obama have done something I would have guessed was not possible! They’ve made Hillary look like a moderate.
How many MSM outlets do you think will pick up the story?
Charity begins at home.
So Edwards is a bold-faced liar. Anyone out there surprised?? Poor Johnny...his slip is showing...again!!! Pitiful putz.
Edwards daughter received Murdoch money [contrary to his claims that charity got all]
all you freepers are too harsh on edwards’ daughter....
she needed the money....to go and get her hair done...just like daddy!!!!!
“reports that it has sold about 20,000 copies so far, and thus perhaps about 30,000 overall.
Publishing economics are notoriously murky, but with a cover price of $29.95, those sales might have earned back roughly $100,000 royalties, a fraction of the $500,000 advance, publishing industry sources said”
Let me makes this less murky. Discounts on a book’s cover price run 50% to 65%. For the sake of argument, I’ll use 50% so the gross on 30,000 copies x $14.98 (rounded) equals $449,400. Knock off printing cost, estimate of $2 per book. Now we have $389,400. Knock off another 500 review copies for another $1,000. Now we have $388,400. Subtract from that overhead, salaries and such at 15% and you now have $330,140.
Royalties run 10% to 12%, the higher number used after the book sells a certain number of books. Just for the hell of it, I’ll use 12% to keep it simple.
Royalty? $39,616.80, not $100,000.
Two facts:
- John Edwards received a $500,000 advance from HarperCollins. He says he gave that money to charity.
- Cate Edwards and Jonathan Prince had their expenses paid by HarperCollins.
There’s no contradiction there.
In its short history, Politico sems to have developed a pattern of spinning stories out of pretty much nothing. They’ve accused Ron Paul of endorsing Truther theories based on stuff he never said. Sloppy and misleading reporting is sloppy and misleading, regardless of who is targeted.
The real, and marginally more interesting story, is this: A News Corp. subsidiary paid Edwards a lot of money, a lot more than any other publisher would consider offering. When Edwards started targeting Nws Corp. and Murdoch by name, the company retaliated my releasing details of the deal.
Is it hypocritical of Edwards to bite the hand that feeds? Is HarperCollins acting more like a Washington power player cultivating as many powerful friends as it can rather than a publisher motivated by selling books for profit? Fair questions, and the substantive parts of the article address them. But the lead — that when Edwards said he gave away his royalties, he “left unmentioned” that his daughter had received expense money — is a nothing-burger.
Two facts:
- John Edwards received a $500,000 advance from HarperCollins. He says he gave that money to charity.
- Cate Edwards and Jonathan Prince had their expenses paid by HarperCollins.
There’s no contradiction there.
In its short history, Politico sems to have developed a pattern of spinning stories out of pretty much nothing. They’ve accused Ron Paul of endorsing Truther theories based on stuff he never said. Sloppy and misleading reporting is sloppy and misleading, regardless of who is targeted.
The real, and marginally more interesting story, is this: A News Corp. subsidiary paid Edwards a lot of money, a lot more than any other publisher would consider offering. When Edwards started targeting Nws Corp. and Murdoch by name, the company retaliated my releasing details of the deal.
Is it hypocritical of Edwards to bite the hand that feeds? Is HarperCollins acting more like a Washington power player cultivating as many powerful friends as it can rather than a publisher motivated by selling books for profit? Fair questions, and the substantive parts of the article address them. But the lead — that when Edwards said he gave away his royalties, he “left unmentioned” that his daughter had received expense money — is a nothing-burger.
Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz said that his boss donated the book payments to charity and that the expense money went to staffers and vendors.
Chuck Schumer is losing another of his spokesmen to a 2008 hopeful. Eric Schultz, Schumer’s D.C. spokesman and well-regarded former John Kerry mouthpiece, is leaving to become John Edwards’ national campaign press secretary, relocating to Chapel Hill, N.C.
“John Edwards did not receive one penny from this book — all of his proceeds went to charities, like Habitat for Humanity and the College for Everyone program,” says campaign spokesman Eric Schultz. The $300,000 was for expenses, such as a photographer.
Said Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz: “Thousands of good people work at Fox News and News Corp., but this is about the bias of top executives, those who make real editorial decisions like Rupert Murdoch, people who continually sanction unfounded attacks on Democrats. And that’s why Democrats like Senator Clinton should either reject their money or return it.”
******
Hey, Eric, does that include Cate Edwards?!
Most of Murdoch’s donations go to Republicans, but he gave $4,200 to Clinton’s Senate campaign in 2006 and held a fundraiser for her at News Corp.’s midtown headquarters. He also donated $2,300 to her presidential campaign, according to online campaign donation database Political MoneyLine. Murdoch’s son James, who is seen by many as a likely candidate to eventually succeed his 76-year-old father, gave $3,450.
A Political MoneyLine search of donors employed by News Corp. finds $20,900 in donations to Clinton’s presidential bid from nine company attorneys and executives, including Murdoch’s No. 2, Peter Chernin, who gave the maximum $4,600 allowed.
Chernin is a frequent donor to Democratic causes. He’s also contributed $2,100 each to Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Chris Dodd, Political MoneyLine shows.
Eric is not a particularly good liar. He just needs more practice I’m sure.
Two $400 cuts by stylist Joseph Torrenueva, who told the Associated Press that the former North Carolina senator is a longtime client, showed up on Edwards’ campaign spending reports filed this weekend. Edwards spokesman Eric Schultz said it never should have been there.
“The bill was sent to the campaign. It was inadvertently paid,” Schultz said. “John Edwards will be reimbursing the campaign.”
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