Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 9, 1991 TAG: 9104090515
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES LENGTH: Long
The document stipulated that in exchange for a sneak peak at Kitty Kelley's super-secret bio of the former first lady, reporters couldn't talk or write about the book until Monday.
The contract represents the latest example of covenants aimed at controlling news coverage.
"Nancy Reagan, the Unauthorized Biography" paints Reagan as a scheming, power-hungry woman who had an affair with Frank Sinatra and once tried marijuana. Former President Reagan said the book contained "flagrant and absurd falsehoods" that "exceed the bounds of decency" and that he's sure the buying public will judge the book harshly.
"Neither I, nor my wife, Nancy, intend to have any further comment on this matter," Reagan said in a statement Monday.
Susan Reynolds, a spokeswoman for Sinatra said, "We are not going to dignify this type of writing with a formal response."
Harshly or not, readers in huge numbers are judging for themselves. By the end of the day Monday, 150,000 new copies were ordered. That's in addition to the 600,000 already in or en route to bookstores around the country.
Kelley, who was bitterly attacked over earlier biographies of Sinatra and Jacqueline Onassis, greeted fans and signed books at a packed publication party Monday night in Washington.
"I just love this," Kelley said as she went from interview to interview at the National Press Club and posed in her pink and black suit next to a nearly life-size publicity image of Nancy Reagan in trademark red.
Lynn Nofziger, White House political director in the first year of the Reagan presidency, appeared and received a hug.
Nofziger was asked if his presence had any particular meaning.
"It doesn't mean anything," he replied. "Kitty is a friend of mine; the Reagans are friends of mine. If Nancy scheduled a book party here, I'd come. I think Nancy is perfectly capable of defending herself." Then he added: "None of us is perfect, not even the Reagans."
"Everything is documented and it's all there in the back of the book," Kelley said. "I spent four years doing this book and I talked with 1,000 people to write it."
Security surrounding the book's editing and printing was extraordinary, said Jack McKeown, vice president and publisher of Simon & Schuster's trade division. Just five manuscripts were prepared; they were numbered and a log was kept of each copy's exact location, McKeown said.
The Associated Press, The Washington Post, USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, Newsweek, Women's Wear Daily and "Entertainment Tonight" were asked to sign the embargo agreement so that stories about the book would appear in unison, said Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Judy Hilsinger.
The New York Times and the New York Daily News did not sign the agreement, Hilsinger said. Both published stories on the book on Sunday, enjoying a 24-hour jump on news organizations that did sign.
The two newspapers obtained the book without the help of Simon & Schuster, Hilsinger said.
Most reporters at news organizations signing the contract were sent copies of the book 48 hours before they were to interview Kelley, Hilsinger said. A reporter from Newsweek received her copy last Tuesday for the April 15 issue.
The embargo and other contractual press restrictions are not unprecedented.
Actress Vanessa Redgrave, stung by stories critical of her comments about the Middle East, asked that journalists granted interviews pledge not to ask about her politics. She also demanded approval over the article.
The heavy metal band Guns N' Roses requires prospective interviewers to sign a contract giving the group broad control over news stories.
As originally drafted, the Kelley contract with the AP mandated that reporters "will maintain [the book] on a highly confidential basis; that you will not furnish any or all of [the book] to any person or entity or reveal any of the information contained in [the book] whatsoever to any person or entity."
International Creative Management, the talent agency representing Kelley that issued the contract, also asked news organizations not to "obtain an interview with any person named in the materials (including, without limitation, Nancy Reagan) on the basis of the fact that you have had access" to the book.
Kitty Yancy, deputy managing editor for USA Today's Life section, said the newspaper objected to those provisions and had them stricken, as did other news organizations including the AP. For its Monday story, USA Today contacted Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, for comment.
Editors said they were uncomfortable with the agreement but chose to sign in order to offer timely coverage of the immediate best seller.
"I don't like them," Yancy said. "I think it is a potentially dangerous trend. We felt it was a way to gain access to a very important book. Nothing we signed compromised what we could write about."
"It appeared that this is the only way we would get the book," said Mary Hadar, assistant managing editor for the Post's Style section. Without the contract, she said, the paper had "an extremely obscure chance of getting the book."
Nancy Nielsen, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, said the newspaper prefers embargoing stories only when the subject is complicated and needs analysis - such as the president's budget.
by CNB