So how do you solve a problem like Judith, anyway?

By Sarah on November 22, 2006 12:01 PM

Wait, this story’s not over yet? The turkey’s not yet in the oven? But indeed, there are some last huffing gasps of the OJ book deal debacle, centering on one particular issue: what will Judith Regan do now? As the New York Times’ Edward Wyatt & Julie Bosman report, speculation is rampant – especially as a News Corporation exec who spoke on the condition of anonymity said that Regan had been outraged over the company’s yielding to pressure to cancel the book and television special.

But as of now (and not surprisingly) no one’s willing to say that she could get tossed out of her perch as Murdoch’s favorite publishing gal. Ira Silverberg, a literary agent who represents several ReganBooks authors, said he expected that Regan would stay because she had been a regular source of profit. “Judith is a bit of a lightning rod,” Silverberg said. “She has brought a lot of money to HarperCollins and has been a very successful publisher. I don’t think that’s going to change. I have enjoyed a successful relationship with her on behalf of my clients and this will not affect the way that I do business with her.” But ICM powerhouse agent Esther Newberg thinks differently after a “bad experience” with Regan. She added that she hopes the fallout from the Simpson episode “means that we don’t have to see her anymore, but I don’t think we’ll get that lucky.”

Luck probably doesn’t have much to do with it – profit margins will. And as long as Regan makes money for NewsCorp, she’ll stay. The question is how creative the accounting may get so that Regan has a direct pipeline into the operating costs without affecting HarperCollins’ bottom line. It’s just a matter of formalizing an arrangement that’s on the books already…

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