Quote of the day: When the taste level drops to "atrocious," don't you just know that Rupert Murdoch has to be lurking behind the curtain?

"This is an interview that no one thought would happen. It's the definitive last chapter in the trial of the century."
--Mike Darnell (left), the Fox television network's vice president, alternative programming

Mr. Darnell's network, you see, will broadcast a pair of hour-length interviews with--you guessed it--O. J. Simpson. The interviews, which seem already to have been taped, are scheduled for November 27 and 29, and are conducted (and produced) by Judith Regan, whose ReganBooks imprint will, by eerie coincidence, publish a book (yes, a book!) by O.J. on November 30.

You're probably thinking, "Gee, this is an awful lot of hoopla for what's probably just going to be an update on O.J.'s search for the real murderer of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman--and maybe some notes on where O.J. has been golfing." (My theory has always been that O.J. believes murderers tend to hang out on golf courses, thus increasing his chances of surprising, or maybe just stumbling across, the malefactor.)

But no! It appears, according to the press release, that O.J. tells "how he would have carried out the murders if he were the one responsible"! Huh? Or should I say, "Yikes!"? I don't have the energy (or interest level) to search out the press release for myself, so I'm going to trust Edward Wyatt's New York Times account:

According to a news release, the book and the TV special, which has a working title of "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," will depict Mr. Simpson describing "how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade."

Grossed out? You're not the only one. According to the NYT account (to which Bill Carter is credited as having "contributed from New York," and I'm guessing this may have been his contribution): "At least one other network said it had passed on the chance to bid on the TV special because it thought the content was of questionable taste.

"Rebecca Marks, a spokeswoman for NBC Universal Television, said the network passed because 'from an advertising point of view, from a public relations point of view, everything, it was impossible.'"

Of course, both the Fox Broadcasting Company and ReganBooks are tentacles of the News Corporation. And that, girls and boys, means--you guessed it again--Rupert Murdoch!

Why, the word "impossible" simply doesn't exist in our Rupert's vocabulary. Especially not with regard to matters of taste. It's almost impossible to think what would constitute "bad taste" in Murdochworld.