Murdoch pulls plug on O.J. book -- fallout for Regan?

Rupert Murdoch came to his senses and ended Judith Regan's ill-conceived plans for publishing an O.J. Simpson book and broadcasting an interview on the Fox network:

"I and senior management agree with the American public that this was an ill-considered project," said Rupert Murdoch, News Corp. chairman. "We are sorry for any pain that this has caused the families of Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown Simpson."

ReganBooks is owned by HarperCollins, a subsidiary of Murdoch's News Corp.

This project was beyond tasteless. I'm glad to hear that many of Fox's affiliates and some of its on-air personalities like Bill O'Reilly and Geraldo Rivera resisted going along. (You know you've crossed the line when even Geraldo finds it objectionable.)

I wonder what this will mean for Regan. She's been pushing the envelope in publishing for a long time, but this time she clearly went too far. Her statement this weekend likening Simpson's book to a confession and calling him "the murderer" now looks a lot like spin control anticipating Murdoch's veto. She's going to be made into the scapegoat over this, both in the eyes of the public and (I suspect) within News Corp.