By: E&P Staff In what book publishers call a rare event, The New York Times has denied permission to reprint one of its recent articles in the forthcoming Michael Moore book, "The Official 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Reader."
According to the newspaper, the decision was made by Editor Bill Keller "in conjunction with" Publisher Arthur Sulzberger, Jr.
"We strongly value The Times's neutrality in its election coverage," spokeswoman Catherine Mathis said, "and we are determined not to associate ourselves with any work in film or print that attacks either candidate."
Moore's response, as quoted in Friday's New York Times: "They made the determination of what is in the book without having read it. I think that's pretty lame."
The article in question is the oft-praised (and lamented) 1,220 word Editors' Note from May 26 which admitted that some of the paper's coverage of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction "was not as rigorous as it should have been."
Moore said the purpose of reprinting the article was to "applaud" the paper "for having the courage to admit their mistakes. It had nothing to do with Bush or Kerry."
The publisher of the book, Simon & Schuster, says it has obtained permission to publish about two dozen pieces from other publications, including The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post, and the Times was the only source to deny permission. The Times article on Friday said that publishing industry executives say that denial for reprinting "are rare."
Moore's book, due out next month along with the DVD of the movie, will contain the screenplay, source materials and many articles and reviews.
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