How do books like "The Obama Nation" make it to the NYT bestsellers list? Well. . .
"The Obama Nation" was written and printed because major American publishing houses have decided that there's money to be made in funding right-wing boutique imprints modeled after the Washington-based Regnery, which has made a small fortune stoking the hard-right furnace with combustible prose. Corsi's book is published by Threshold Editions, a division of Simon & Schuster, which hired right-wing political operative Mary Matalin to edit the imprint. Random House has a similar imprint in Crown Forum, and Penguin Group USA has Sentinel. Their business model -- and this is all about business -- is predicated on the existence of an echo chamber of right-wing radio and television shows willing to promote these publishers' products -- however noxious. Beyond that is a network of conservative book clubs and organizations willing to place the sort of advance bulk orders for controversial books that will guarantee them a place on the bestseller lists.It's just that sort of order that made "The Obama Nation" No. 1 on Sunday's New York Times bestseller list, and essentially "laundered" Corsi onto the respectable broadcast media's guest list.
Hat tip Digby, whose post you should also read in full.
Posted by Linkmeister at August 16, 2008 02:41 PM | TrackBack