The O.J. Simpson book, If I did it, was pulled from shelves by Fox media giant Rupert Murdoch.  Also nixed was the Simpson special set to air during sweeps week — the week where the networks try to drive up their viewer numbers in an effort to impress would-be advertisers.

This wasn't the first time that Fox pulled a book.  When Michael Moore came out with Angry White Men, Murdoch threatened to pull it and "pulp" all of the ones that were printed at the time.  Moore was told that he shouldn't be criticizing the President (George W Bush) at a time when the nation was dealing with a terrorism threat.  Word got out that the book was being canned and sales of those few that were out there skyrocketed.  Eventually Murdoch released the book.

There's nothing like telling a person they can't have something to make them really want it.

It appears that's the case with the Simpson book as one eBay shopper paid a whopping $8500 for the verboten book.

But if criticizing a lousy President was a bad thing, allowing a man who is widely suspected of being wrongfully acquitted of killing his wife and then publishing a book to say how he would have done it, had he done it, pushes the limits.

Whether Murdoch will eventually do a turnabout and release the book anyway is yet to be seen but with all of the buzz now, there is little doubt that he would win big in the sweeps battle if he released it.

Now the big question is, was all of this talk in the media just a cynical ploy for Murdoch to drive up his numbers so advertisers will be more attracted to the Fox network or was pulling the Simpson interview (and book) just a reflection of Fox actually admitting they were wrong to have crossed the line of public morality and decency in the first place?