WEBCommentary Contributor

Author: Michael J. Gaynor
Date:  September 16, 2007

Topic category:  Other/General

Until Proven Innocent Needs El Rushbo & Sean


"Comment: [Until Proven Innocent] is a blockbuster book with great reviews that no one can buy-- it's not at bookstores, it's not available on line. This is a publishing Titanic! KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor should sue St. Martin's Press, their publisher, for gross negligence."

BETTER SOLUTION: Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity should join Laura Ingraham and come to the rescue! Then enough books will be printed and the great political correctness fiasco AND the attempt to suppress it will be fully exposed.


Rush Limbaugh, like Mrs. Peel of "The Avengers," you are needed.

Desperately.

Walter Abbott: "If KC wants to put the REAL squeeze on the publisher, he should within the next few days be a guest on Rush's shown and Sean Hannity's show. And he should mention how the publisher has fallen short. That will push the demand even higher. Rush will push his book just to spite the publisher. He knows how they operate."

When it came to marketing their magnificent book, the brilliant co-authors needed a clue, while Rush and Sean know what to do and are in position to do it!

When a book makes Laura Ingraham's must read list and receives great reviews from The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal, it belongs atop the best seller list.

But the initial printing of Until Proven Innocent was a mere 13,000 copies.

The marketing of Until Proven Innocent suggests suppression, stupidity, or both.

Stuart Taylor, Jr. and KC Johnson, in the book's acknowledgements section: "We are also grateful to...Tom Dunne and John Parsley of St. Martin's Press for giving our book a home and helping us better it better."

Giving the book a home, yes.

But making it better?

For those who want the book to be ignored and that is to be deplored while the mismarketing is thoroughly explored.

The book jacket states: "The context of the Duke case has vast import and contains likable heroes, unfortunate victims and memorable villains--and in its full telling, it is captivating nonfiction with broad political, racial, and cultural relevance to our times."

True.

Book jacket: "Taylor and Johnson...take the idiocies and dishonesty of right- and left-wingers alike head on, shedding new light on the dangers of rogue prosecutors and police and a cultural tendency toward media-fueled travesties of justice."

That's an affront to the Right, which was right about the Duke case and received equal blame with the Left from the publisher and insufficient credit from the authors.

It doesn't help marketing!

The Left does not want a book subtitled "Political Correctness and the Shameful Injustice of the Duke Lacrosse Rape Case."

The Right wants its part in exposing the real scandal fairly reported, not minimized.

The co-authors did not do that, neither being conservative, but the right thing for the Right to do is to forgive them and help.

Charlotte Allen, "Duke's Tenured Vigilantes: The scandalous rush to judgment in the lacrosse 'rape' case," The Weekly Standard: "As late as August 25, the New York Times carried a front-page story parroting an ex post facto memorandum prepared by a Durham police officer at Nifong's request that detailed numerous injuries allegedly inflicted on the accuser that contradicted the contemporaneous reports of medical personnel and other police. That story was ripped to shreds a few days later in Slate by Stuart Taylor Jr. of the National Journal. Taylor, along with Rush Limbaugh and a handful of bloggers--notably Brooklyn College history professor KC Johnson and La Shawn Barber, an African-American woman--were nearly the only members of the media to express skepticism about the accuser's story from the outset."

Tragically (especially for marketing purposes), neither Rush nor La Shawn was mentioned in the book. (Mr. Taylor apologized to La Shawn, with whose work he had not been nearly familiar enough.)

The entire reference to Sean Hannity was: "Sean Hannity of Fox's Hannity & Colmes grew outspokenly skeptical of Nifong's claims." In appeared in a paragraph rightly extolling "astute Dan Abrams of MSNBC's The Abrams Report, right after a reference to Dan's "frequent guest Yale Galanter, a defense attorney."

I can understand Sean being miffed at following Yale Galanter, an OJ Simpson lawyer noted for saying that his notorious client was conducting a "search for the real killers of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman” and claiming that "Jeff Ruby was being racist when he asked Simpson and his party to leave his restaurant."

But the political correctness extremists, the feminuts and the black racists are the one who benefit from the suppression of Until Proven Innocent, so it's time for Rush and Sean to be BIG men and give the book the backing it richly deserved, imperfections notwithstanding.

Ann Coulter on the Duke case: "You can't win a victory like this without some liberals being affected. Bush may be an ineffective communicator, but that doesn't mean all thought stops in the rest of the country. Well-educated liberals, who have wealth and homes and children, begin to freak out as they get to know their apparent allies. They have something to lose from allowing insane people to run the country."

Ann gets it, Rush and Sean. The co-authors sent that message. It's a message worth sending, although their undercrediting conservatives and their publisher treating Left and Right are equally at fault do not inspire conservatives to help send it.

Posts at the LieStoppers message board highlight the marketing disaster.

"I went to Barnes & Noble at Clyborne and Webster in Chicago on Tuesday to buy it and was told they had one copy on order for the store. I was rather surprised."

"I ordered from Amazon in April with two day delivery and just received it today. I had trouble getting it shipped from Barnes & Noble website. My local B&N store (Texas) has not had it in stock."

"I went to a Borders today and they didn't have it."

"I can't find a copy at an B&N or Borders anywhere in the Houston, Texas area however one B&N told me they ordered one (1) copy."

"Barnes and Noble in Thousand Oaks, California does not have it in stock. I'll try Borders and another local B and N."

"I went to Barnes & Noble in Palm Beach Gardens, FL yesterday, they DID NOT HAVE KC's book."

"NO luck at either Borders or Barnes and Noble...."

"I registered here just so I could post on this topic. I'm an avid reader of this board and KC's blog as well but I never post. I went to my local B&N on Tuesday morning thinking the book would be prominently displayed on the 'New Arrivals' table. Nothing. I looked in other areas. Nothing. I finally asked at the desk. The clerk said, 'What was the name of that book again? Who is the author? Oh yes, I see we have three on special order. Would you like us to order one for you?' They seemed to have never heard of it. I told them that the authors are all over TV and radio and 'Shame on you for not having it.' I then went to the local bookstore in town and received the same response. They had a couple of copies special ordered and I again tried to shame them. Neither bookstore indicated that they were going to order any copies except for the special orders. I told both of them that I would order it from Amazon as I knew they had it......and I did. I wanted to send a message that I would take my business elsewhere. I was really surprised and outraged. Thank you for starting this thread. I wanted to get word about the bookstores to KC but didn't know quite how to do it."

"Neither B&N nor Borders near me had it."

"In Salt Lake City, Utah

"Borders 1 store, just 1 copy

"Barnes & Noble no copies in 6 stores. I only called one, but he said he could search inventory in all 6 stores."

"Went to Barnes and Nobles on Sept. 4th around 6:00 pm (center city Philadelphia) and after looking around (sports, law etc.) I asked and they said none were out yet. They had to go to the basement to get me a copy- this took about 15 mins. Certainly not conducive for a causal reader to pick it up."

"I first tried a Barnes & Noble in midtown Manhattan. The were supposed to have it in the 'True Crime' section, but there were no copies. I don't know whether they were sold out or not; the clerks had no idea what I was talking about.

"I found a copy at the Borders in Stamford, CT. They have two copies remaining."

"Tried to buy the book today in Columbus, Ohio from the Barnes and Noble on W. Dublin-Granville and the Borders on Kenny and the Borders on Sawmill. No luck. Am moving so can't order from Amazon. Can't wait to read it some day!"

"Just got back from checking the in-store computer at Borders in Meyerland (Houston) Texas and the message has changed from RESERVE at front desk to ...IT IS ON ITS WAY...RESERVE at front desk.

"As expected President Clinton's book is 'up front and personal' when you walk in the door."

"Yesterday I decided I couldn't wait so I went to the B&N across from Cary Towne Center (KC - that's in NC between Raleigh and Durham). It was not in the new arrivals display as you enter. Ironically, there was a copy of Pressler's book.

"I went to the desk and she went back to me with 'True Crime' to get it. I didn't actually see how many copies there were on the shelf but there was at least one other. I remarked to her that it was of local interest so it should be out front.

"At checkout a second woman remarked that someone had been in looking for it and I repeated that it was not in new releases but back in 'True Crime' and that they should have put it out front."

"short version, Jacksonville, Fl area:1.) B&N out of stock2.) Borders said special order only (hard to believe)3.) Amazon in limbo, shipper or US post office are idiots, probably both."

"I'm in the Houston area, so I stopped at B&N on my way home from work. Their computer said they had one copy and they helped me look EVERYWHERE for it but no luck--they said it must have sold. They also looked in their computer and couldn't find another B&N in the entire Houston area that had a copy--couldn't tell if they'd had them and sold them or if they hadn't gotten any yet."

"I ordered from Strandbooks.com in NYC. Have written them twice, as I can see my order has not shipped."

"I stopped by my local B&N at lunch today. Not a single copy of UPI. They looked it up for me on their computer system and told me that only THREE (3) Barnes & Noble stores in the entire metro Atlanta area have it in stock.

"My local B&N did, however, have about 5 copies of Pressler's book in stock in the 'True Crime' section of the store.

"Looks to me like mainstream bookstores do not WANT to stock KC's book.

"Makes you wonder, eh?"

"On Sept. 5, I called one Barnes and Noble on Long Island to see if they had it in stock. The asked me the name and author about 10 times. They had none in stock.

"I called another B&N and they had a copy and put it aside for me to pick up. After I purchased it, I inquired about other copies in the store. They were unaware of the book but they said it would be in the crimes section. Too lazy to walk upstairs, I found it on the table in the new book section. There were 4 copies, one of which was damaged.

"As the store is the closest book store to the hometown of one of the players and a big lacrosse area, they could do a better job of displaying and being aware of the book."

"in the Nashville, TN area

"On Tue I called B&N and asked if they had the book in stock--told them KC had just been on GMA. They ordered it for me and I picked it up today.

"I also called Borders--they also did not have it. Told them about the GMA appearance--had them order one for me--it's not in yet.

"Called a trendy local store--asked if it was in stock. Woman had never heard of it. Gave her an earfull--ordered a copy and asked how long till it would be in. She checked her computer and told me it would be a while because 'the publisher was not able to supply.'"

"Like many of the people who pre-ordered from Amazon.com, I received an email stating that shipment would be delayed -- even though I pre-ordered the book in May. I was annoyed enough to place an order with bn.com, which stated they had the book in stock. But Barnes and Noble's shipment has also been delayed"

"KC has a lousy publisher-- it is the publisher's responsibility to arrange distribution. KC needs to get a lawyer ASAP to pressure the publisher. Books have their best sales on release and he and Stuart may be harmed by the lack of availability of the book."

"At first glance it looks to me as if the publishers underestimated the public's thirst for narratives that speak truth.

"Who'd have thunk it! Certainly not some as-hole publishing twits living in Manhattan-- they think the NYT told the story and told it swell."

"Two possibilities:

1) the publisher is an idiot. The media coverage for the book is NOW, and the current TV appearances and reviews will create interest in the book. Ergo, it should be available NOW, while it is in the public's mind. And book chains should have been alerted to the publicity campaign, and had been provided with large stocks of the book to have on hand, together with publicity material.

(It is not unheard of for a publisher to mess up distribution and the media campaign; but it is still DUMB, at best.)

As for the publisher being unable to supply demand--this book was featured in the Reader's Digest; a large demand for it therefore should have been gleefully anticipated. Ergo, why was there not a larger print run (if that's the reason for there not being enough books)?

2) Are publishers/large book retailers all of the same mindset/kinship with the Gang of 88? Are they sympathetic to one another? Some large book chains have been accused of downplaying books not to their political liking (this is not confirmed, but the accusation has been made). If so, could that apply also to a book that paints academia in a less than perfect light?

"My local library, which will order a dozen copies of the new bio of Einstein (a fine book, btw--even though ten of them are still sitting unchecked-out on the shelf); and a dozen copies of a book about an obscure English traveler in the 19th century middle east; has exactly ONE copy of this book on order. (I will try to get that number increased to 2...)

"Eventually I think demand for this book will make it a bestseller; but the publisher owes the public and their authors better than this."

"In Del Mar, CA, the Barnes and Noble store said they had one copy to share among five stores in the area, but only because someone had ordered it, so they couldn't sell it.

"Borders said they had one copy per store, but couldn't find it."

"BTW, that's a nasty bummer that both Barnes & Noble and Borders are refusing to stock KC's book. That's not coincidence. Damn!"

"The Barnes and Noble in Ann Arbor had ONE copy of the book (which is now in my possession) which was tucked away in the True Crime section. This was two days after the release date."

"...shouldn't the publisher have anticipated this (especially since Reader's Digest was going to condense the book for a feature)?

"I guarantee, that if there had been stacks of this book by the registers at the check out lines in bookstores, the 'impulse buyers' would have picked up a copy, while the topic is fresh in their minds from the publicity campaign.

"NOT to have the book READY and AVAILABLE is, at the very least , a very poor lack of foresight on the part of the publisher...

"(I also think they used cheap paper and poor binding--as if they thought the book might be OK for a little contemporary reading, but wouldn't still be expected to be on a library shelf twenty years from now--but that's my opinion. However, in shameless defense of my opinion I will say that I have seen a LOT of books...)"

"I also called Borders the young man there didn't even know what book I was talking about. I gave him the title of the book twice. He asked me to spell KC's name (not kidding). He asked me what the book was about when I told him he replied (those were no choir boys). So I had to get a little rude and ask if the store was even going to have this book for sale and he finally said yes. But just a few copies."

"Barnes & Noble here where I live (very large area) had none. You have to order it. They had no idea what I was talking about and looked it up in their computer.

"They did have a lot of Rita Cosby's new book and it was on their discount program. It was on a table in the front of the store all on it's own. There were quite a few people around the table."

"I too searched the new arrivals table and ended up asking. B&N at Preston Royal Dallas also directed me to 'True Crime' which would seem to indicate that it is marketed rather narrowly as a 'case' study???"

"This evening I made my 4th trip to Borders Houston (Meryland Plaza), Texas to ask about the book.

"Meryland Plaza Borders is mammoth.

"This time the manager was waiting for me and nervous.

"She told me that they have not received their one (1) copy and that I may have it when it arrives...and...they would order more copies but there are no more copies to be had.

"I suggested that she keep after it and she agreed to try."

"Since people mentioned they'd been having trouble, I called Borders ahead of time. Every Borders in the Los Angeles area has it except Westwood who hasn't received their copy yet.

"They only have one copy each though so if someone in LA happens to read this don't go to the Borders in West Hollywood because I bought their copy today."

"In Southern Cal. (Del Mar, Encinitas), there were no copies available at 5 B&N stores. A local Borders had no copies."

"Why would the publisher send only ONE copy to a major book chain's stores?

"ONE BOOK must be (obviously) the MINIMUM to carry any new book.

"Think of how many other new books get published for which there has been NO publicity, NO Reader's Digest condensation, and NO TV interviews; for which the stores have on hand MANY MORE than ONE COPY.

"With all the publicity this has received (Reader's Digest condensation), wouldn't the publisher SUGGEST that the book chains have more copies ON HAND to go with the publicity campaign?

"Either someone does not really expect this book to sell AT ALL, except to the rare antiquary and specialist (and hence the chains will carry one copy per store); or

"the publisher is a total incompetent (not ruling this one out); or

"someone in the thin atmosphere of the book publishing/retailing process is sufficiently antagonistic to this book's take on academia and PC-correctness that they would not mind if the book died a slow death.

"The last is a 'fantastic' conclusion, but one which is not ruled out, either. (I tend at present to lean towards number 2, 'publisher incompetence'; but I cannot remember being in a book store which ordered and had on hand only ONE copy of any tome in the 'New in non-fiction' department.)

"I'm sure Kirkus and other reviewers have previewed what this book is about, and the bookstore buyers ought to have been informed of the Reader's Digest sale and the other publicity. They OUGHT to have known that this is not about 'true crime'; but even in that category, this was a well-publicized case, and how many copies of books about the Peterson case did they stock?

"Paint me incredulous..."

"In Dearborn, Michigan, the Borders got ONE copy. And it's gone. And I didn't get it."

"Bad news for KC and Stuart. Amazon books usually ship in 1-2 days, not weeks. Major snafu by publisher not to have enough books to meet demand.

"Who is/are KC and Stuart's agent(s)? The agent should have reviewed the publishing contract and be raising holy hell right now with the publisher."

"Richmond, Virginia.

"Sold out in Borders."

"So ONE WEEK after the book's RELEASE DATE, the stores are OUT of copies and can't get anymore?

"Who did the planning on this one?"

"A North Carolina Democrat?"

"Asked at the desk (Borders). NO COPIES. NONE ON ORDER.

"Checked the shelves. LOTS of copies of other books--usually FIVE of each new non-fiction book.

"Result: one lost sale (maybe made up for later).

"But how many sales are NOT going to take place because the book is not there RIGHT NOW, and VISIBLE RIGHT NOW to those browsing for books?"

"All right KC, I went to Borders to check on this for you. The Borders in Costa Mesa, CA (huge store, Newport/Costa Mesa Population around 200,000) has ZERO books, although they did have two Wendy Murphy books prominently displayed in the front of the story with the new books. Your book was said to be 'on reserve' whatever the hell that means.

"I checked the computer at the CM Borders and found about two stores in all of Orange County (population what 3 million?) that had your book. I believe they were Tustin and Orange."

"Looks like your published has about 10 copies in all of Southern California putting these posts together. Doh!"

"We now know from Michael Gaynor's excellent column

http://www.renewamerica.us/columns/gaynor/070909

that the first print run for this book was 13,000 copies.

"THAT IS A CRUEL JOKE!!

"When you deduct the number of copies being bought by libraries, there will be even LESS available for the general public.

"Southern California alone, or New England--New York, Mass., Conn. (lots of lax interest there) would probably consume ALL 13,000 copies in a week, IF THEY WERE AVAILABLE! There are more than enough families into lax who would want to read this, and BUY it if they could FIND it on a book table.

"Instead, there are probably LESS THAN 100 COPIES in Southern California!

"If that isn't a slam-dunk proof that the publisher did not meet its obligations under contract to publish this book, then nothing is."

"Although I have already received my copy from Amazon, I called my local Barnes & Noble to inquire about availability. They told me it was sold out in all nearby stores and that 22 copies had already been special ordered. The clerk expressed surprise and said it must be a very hot new release!

"Interestingly, on Amazon, ALL of the top 50 of the 'hot new releases' are listed as In Stock, except for Until Proven Innocent, which they now list as 2-3 week back-order."

"Barnes and Noble, Christiansburg, Virginia. (This location is closest to Virginia Tech and Radford Universities.) Zero copies in stock. Zero ordered. The clerk sounded embarassed and ordered a copy for me.

"Barnes and Noble, Roanoke Virginia, Tanglewood location. Two copies in stock. Clerk did not know how many were originally stocked.

"Barnes and Noble, Roanoke Virginia, Valley View location. Zero in stock. Apparently zero ordered.

"Clerk/manager told me that Barnes and Noble policy is that employees are not permitted to divulge information on how many books have been ordered or sold or are on shelves at a store.

"I said, 'You mean I can come in and count the books on the shelf, but you can't tell me on the phone how many books of a title are on the shelf?'

"Guy said, 'Yep. I know. I feel the same way, but it's corporate.'

"FYI, Roanoke/Salem is the primary metro area for the region, is home to Hollins and Roanoke colleges, the dominant newspaper, and much of the economic infrastructure in SWVA.

"So, two copies in stock, for the three Barnes and Nobles covering Southwestern Virginia."

"When I was asking at the counter whether they had the book or not, they looked it up for me on the computer, and I leaned over the counter and was looking (innocently!) to see that the 'Until Proven Innocent' they pulled up was indeed the title I was asking about; and I couldn't help also spot the columns on how many were in stock (0) and how many were on order (0)."

"I smell a conspiracy."

"...how appearing about GMA? And being featured in Reader's Digest?

"That surely must be known to be worth more than 13,000 copies.

"And the publisher KNEW that this book was going to be so featured.

"Not only does a small print run reduce the number of people who will buy the book,it may also keep it from best-seller lists, and reduce the price paid by a paperback publisher (who may be even less interested in buying it, and in turn in marketing it, since it didn't do well as a hardcover).

"IOW, yes, my poor befuddled mind might even start to wonder about the possibility of a desire to spike the book (after all, it attacks modern academia, PC-correctness, and dares to assert that bias against males is just that: bias.)

"Are there any persons connected with the book publishing elite who might find such revelations distasteful? Members of the 'Brodhead club'? Friends of presidents of Ivy League schools? Friends of members of the social sciences academia?

"Just let the book die, and be forgotten?"

"Based on the numbers I’ve seen over the past decade, to have any chance of hitting the New York Times bestseller list (top 15) you need a minimum print run of 35,000 copies. That will get you a decent display in the chains as well as a reasonable presence in the independents and other outlets. It also allows for fast re-stocking should your book sell incredibly well the first few days.

"Another note on print runs: they are not static numbers. If a book with a 35,000 print run sells like gangbusters the first week, the publisher will be going back to a second printing. And maybe a third or more. That’s the best scenario of all — a book that keeps getting reprinted again and again. After repeated trips back to press, the book could end up with a massive print run and an ecstatic publisher. But this sort of success requires the publisher to stay on top of sales trends and reprint quickly. Because if the stores can’t get them, the customers can’t get them.

"And it doesn’t take long for customers to lose interest in a book they can’t get their hands on."

"Barnes & Noble is now out of stock in my area and they are awaiting another shipment, but don't know when they will get anymore.

"Borders is a lost cause, yet again today.

"I would imagine the problem is along the lines of the fundamental prejudices and assumptions that liberal elites, living in the echo chambers of Manhattan and Chevy Chase, summering in the Hamptons and MV, have in many respects vis a vis the real USA.

"They just don't get it, and so perhaps, the publishers and their agents, have underestimated the numbers of people interested in the evil exposed through an explication of the Nifong/Mangum/DPD/Duke Hoax and Conspiracy.

"Just a thought."

"Barnes and Noble in Marlton, NJ and Moorestown, NJ have none in stock and their suppliers have none in stock. The young lady with whom I spoke at Barnes and Noble declined to order it for me."

"Orlando -Saturday I went to B&N and they searched and found the one copy they had."

"The burden of proof that all this was simply incompetence still remains, for me, upon the publisher and the bookstore chains. . ."

"I went into a large independent bookstore last Saturday. They tend to carry a more liberal line, as is usual for an 'indy'. But they do carry crime books, Coulter, O'Reilly, etc., so that's not an issue. There wasn't a copy of KC's to be seen - or any displays, posters, 'coming soon' notices, etc. Nada."

"Costco in Norfolk VA has none."

"Costco in West Springfield, Mass. has none."

"I purchased the last copy at the B&N (Preston at Forest) in Dallas last week."

"B&N.com showed the book would be in stock in 1 to 2 weeks. Amazon showed the book would be in stock in 2 days. Ordered from Amazon this morning."

"Amazon just emailed me a refund and not sending the book?"

"I just stopped by Quail Ridge Books, an independent bookstore in Raleigh, NC where I bought my copy on Sept 4. Mine was the first one sold of the three copies that they had on hand that first day. They have sold 10 books so far but they cannot get any more copies at the moment. Both of their distributors are out."

"I just had one library person yesterday play the poor card with me so today I took them a copy of UPI and donated it."

"OUT OF STOCK NINE DAYS AFTER PUBLICATION DATE (Sept. 4th)!!!

"That says it all...

"(Who planned for this???)"

"I was in the B&N at Southpoint near Durham. There were 10 copies on the shelf in the 'True Crime' section. Meanwhile, some book by Wendy Murphy was right out front."

"Barnes & Noble stores in Midland and Saginaw (Michigan) do not have the book. They said that they could not order the book from their vendors!?! What bull!"

"Comment: This is a blockbuster book with great reviews that no one can buy-- it's not at bookstores, it's not available on line. This is a publishing Titanic! KC Johnson and Stuart Taylor should sue St. Martin's Press, their publisher, for gross negligence."

BETTER SOLUTION: Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity should join Laura Ingraham and come to the rescue! Then enough books will be printed and the great political correctness fiasco AND the attempt to suppress it will be fully exposed.

Michael J. Gaynor


Biography - Michael J. Gaynor

Michael J. Gaynor has been practicing law in New York since 1973. A former partner at Fulton, Duncombe & Rowe and Gaynor & Bass, he is a solo practitioner admitted to practice in New York state and federal courts and an Association of the Bar of the City of New York member.

Gaynor graduated magna cum laude, with Honors in Social Science, from Hofstra University's New College, and received his J.D. degree from St. John's Law School, where he won the American Jurisprudence Award in Evidence and served as an editor of the Law Review and the St. Thomas More Institute for Legal Research. He wrote on the Pentagon Papers case for the Review and obscenity law for The Catholic Lawyer and edited the Law Review's commentary on significant developments in New York law.

The day after graduating, Gaynor joined the Fulton firm, where he focused on litigation and corporate law. In 1997 Gaynor and Emily Bass formed Gaynor & Bass and then conducted a general legal practice, emphasizing litigation, and represented corporations, individuals and a New York City labor union. Notably, Gaynor & Bass prevailed in the Second Circuit in a seminal copyright infringement case, Tasini v. New York Times, against newspaper and magazine publishers and Lexis-Nexis. The U.S. Supreme Court affirmed, 7 to 2, holding that the copyrights of freelance writers had been infringed when their work was put online without permission or compensation.

Gaynor currently contributes regularly to www.MichNews.com, www.RenewAmerica.com, www.WebCommentary.com, www.PostChronicle.com and www.therealitycheck.org and has contributed to many other websites. He has written extensively on political and religious issues, notably the Terry Schiavo case, the Duke "no rape" case, ACORN and canon law, and appeared as a guest on television and radio. He was acknowledged in Until Proven Innocent, by Stuart Taylor and KC Johnson, and Culture of Corruption, by Michelle Malkin. He appeared on "Your World With Cavuto" to promote an eBay boycott that he initiated and "The World Over With Raymond Arroyo" (EWTN) to discuss the legal implications of the Schiavo case. On October 22, 2008, Gaynor was the first to report that The New York Times had killed an Obama/ACORN expose on which a Times reporter had been working with ACORN whistleblower Anita MonCrief.

Gaynor's email address is gaynormike@aol.com.


Copyright © 2007 by Michael J. Gaynor
All Rights Reserved.


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