Well, I just finished a piece about following the money in Hollywood. Now we can turn towards Washington, cup our ears in the direction of Bob Woodward’s house and hear him burst out with a big CHA-CHING!.
What troubles me about Woodward’s announcement of a new book on the Deep Throat story is that he’s managing to get it ready for a July release. That’s next month, for those of you too busy to look at a calendar. I always thought the publishing business took months to prepare a new book for release. Granted, Woodward is an experienced writer who’s published a number of best sellers over the years. But, a month? Do I smell fish?
Think about it: the revelation that “Deep Throat” was Mark Felt hit the media a couple of days ago. The media orgasm and blog battles over Felt’s “hero” status began almost instantaneously, and whatever really important news occurred in the world has been pushed aside for this non-story. Yes, it’s a non-story: the only people to whom this really matters is newspaper reporters who see Woodward and Bernstein as some kind of iconic journalistic pioneers and those for whom this story means some increase in their income.
And that’s what smells: the story breaks on May 31, and Woody’s new book will be on the racks in July? What’s he doing, writing a movie novelization (remember those, kids?). Non-cynics might say “Well, he’s probably had this ready for some time, but now he can get it out there because of Felt’s revelation.” Maybe. But publishing a book often takes a lot longer. The fact that this will hit the rack next month forces me to wonder if the Felt confession was coordinated with Woodward to allow a little profit-taking. Stories have circulated that Felt’s family is looking to get some revenue for the man, who’s over ninety and not in good health. I don’t begrudge them earning a little jack for their story; after all, Woodward, Bernstein and others certainly managed to cash in on Watergate over the past three decades. In fact, some would argue that those two guys in particular build an entire career on that one story.
This is why newspapers are so good for wrapping old fish. The smell is already there.
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