The dirty dealing of Rupert Murdoch

I don't think Murdoch's manipulation of his papers editorial content to further his business interests are that great of a secret as there are tons of examples from Britain to China to FoxNews, but this bit of loose "allegation reporting" did catch my eye.

One leader of the Congressional movement to limit ownership was Senator Trent Lott, Republican of Mississippi. But in the end, he, too, agreed to the compromise. It turns out he had a business connection to Mr. Murdoch. Months before, HarperCollins, Mr. Murdoch’s publishing house, had signed a $250,000 book deal to publish Mr. Lott’s memoir, “Herding Cats,” records and interviews show.....

Mr. Lott’s book sold 12,000 copies, according to Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of all domestic retail and Internet sales. Senator Arlen Specter, Republican of Pennsylvania, received $24,506 from HarperCollins for his modest-selling book “Passion for Truth,” according to financial disclosure forms. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican of Texas, got $141,666 for her book “American Heroines,” which has sold better. All sit on either the Commerce or Judiciary Committees that most closely oversee the media business.

I mean really, how many copies of a book by Trent Lott did they expect to sell?

This all took place well after Trent Lott was forced to step down from Senate leadership in late December of 2002.