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Candace Owens: I Turned Down Million Dollar Book Deal After January 6

“It was weird that it was even a question because I hadn’t done anything wrong. I still told my book publisher I don’t feel good about this.”

Ryan Hedrick

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Photo by Gage Skidmore CC BY-SA 2.0.

During a podcast, Daily Wire host and bestselling author Candace Owens shared that she declined a book deal worth one million dollars from Hachette Book Group because of her moral principles. She explained that the decision came during a critical time when she was negotiating to become a host at the Daily Wire and was pregnant with her first child. She also shared that her husband, an immigrant without a work visa, had uncertain financial prospects.

“One thing that we had banked on was a one million dollar offer that I had received from Hachette, one of the big publishing houses,” said Owens

Owens said that after the success of her first book Blackout, many publishing houses approached her to secure her second book, which was about feminism and focused on women today, with no mention of politics. She said she was excited to receive the offer from Hachette, but her excitement was short-lived following the events of January 6th.

After the attacks on the U.S. Capitol, Owens said people felt intense pressure on social media to distance themselves from former President Donald Trump. Owens claims she received a phone call from her agent, informing her that Hachette was pulling many books with Trump-associated people. Owens said former Trump cabinet member Kellyanne Conway had a book deal revoked by the company.

Her agent advised her that her deal was in limbo because of a tweet she had authored following January 6th, which stated that she had “zero shame” about having supported Donald Trump for the last four years and that she stood unapologetically with every patriot in this country.

“I wasn’t like Kellyanne Conway; I wasn’t in the Trump administration; I’m an influencer on social media. I had a conversation with one of the executives at Hachette on the phone, and I was, of course, level-headed and asked questions. I asked them what I did and why a million-dollar deal was suddenly being put on ice.

Owens said she was informed that Hachette wanted to proceed deal but that she didn’t feel good about it, considering Hachette’s treatment of conservative authors. She and her husband prayed on the decision, which had significant financial implications, and determined they couldn’t proceed with the deal.

“I had survived the test, and they were going to keep the deal, but I didn’t feel good about that,” she said. “It was weird that it was even a question because I hadn’t done anything wrong. I still told my book publisher I don’t feel good about this.”

Owens believed signing with Hachette would have prioritized profit and celebrity above ethics, which she said contradicts her role as a fighter who gives a voice to the voiceless. She ultimately turned down the offer, despite her agent’s plea to reconsider due to perception, distribution, editorial, and time commitment.

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Tim Conway Jr.: Social Media Quickens the News Cycle for Stories Like the Baltimore Bridge

“A good buddy of mine, he sent me that literally about 40 minutes after it happened. The video and the story. That’s crazy.”

Barrett News Media

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A photo of Tim Conway Jr. and the KFI AM-640 logo
(Photo: KFI AM-640)

Social media video of the Francis Scott Key Bridge collapsing in the Baltimore harbor made the rounds Tuesday morning. KFI AM-640 host Tim Conway Jr. believes the way we learned about the tragedy shapes the coverage surrounding it.

While discussing the happenings with KFI reporter Steve Gregory, who has a long history of covering breaking news events, Conway Jr. noted that not only did social media help confirm the validity of the story, but seeing the images spread so quickly shined a spotlight on how fast the news cycle moves now.

“What a great advantage of having Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and then TikTok, all these social media is when something like that happens you know, because it happens so late we would have not ever heard about it or seen anything until the morning news,” said Conway Jr.

“But now with social media you instantly know. A good buddy of mine, he sent me that literally about 40 minutes after it happened. The video and the story. That’s crazy.”

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Michael Riedel: Once You Start Talking About People’s Personal Lives, There’s No Going Back

“If you go down that path, then you’re headed towards National Enquirer territory and as a journalist, you can never really come back from that.”

Barrett News Media

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A photo of Michael Riedel and the 710 WOR logo
(Photo: 710 WOR)

710 WOR morning host Michael Riedel got spent years working as a Broadway reporter and columnist before shifting to the New York news/talker. He has one guiding principle for the radio show that he has kept from his writing days.

Riedel was discussing his previous role at the New York Post with colleague Mark Simone on his midday program and said there are just some things you shouldn’t talk about.

“I got all the backstage stories when I was writing the column about Broadway for the New York Post. You know, celebrities, the leading lady fighting with the producer, lawsuits,” Riedel shared. “But I always drew the line at people’s private lives. Because I thought if you go down that path, then you’re headed towards National Enquirer territory and as a journalist, you can never really come back from that.

“If somebody filed a sexual harassment suit against somebody, I covered those. That’s fine. I mean, as soon as a suit is filed, it’s a matter of public record. I could get into it, but I never got into who’s sleeping with whom and who’s doing this thing. Not to say I didn’t know, and I loved hearing about it, but I drew the line at people’s personal lives when I wrote about them.”

Simone joked that he admired Riedel’s ability to converse with celebrities and know “exactly what that guy would be fascinated by.”

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Howie Carr: MSNBC Hosts Have Too Many Skeletons in Closet to Criticize Ronna McDaniel

“Al Sharpton…is he offended? Brian Williams? Is he still ’emeritus,’ right? How about all the Dateline NBC people who put the bomb in the truck? Mike Barnicle? Is he offended?”

Barrett News Media

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(Photo: The Howie Carr Show)

NBC News, MSNBC, and Ronna McDaniel have been at the forefront of the news media cycle after her hiring and subsequent removal from the network. Howie Carr believes the entire ordeal is an exercise in hypocrisy.

During The Howie Carr Show, the Boston-based host shared his belief that the reaction from MSNBC hosts like Joe Scarborough, Rachel Maddow, and Lawrence O’Donnell about the hiring of McDaniel reeks of dishonesty.

“Talk about hypocrisy here. NBC is now claiming to be journalists? They’re offended by Rhonda McDaniel, because she makes stuff up,” said Carr.

“Al Sharpton…is he offended? Brian Williams? Is he still ’emeritus,’ right? How about all the Dateline NBC people who put the bomb in the truck? Mike Barnicle? Is he offended? Chuck Todd, former coat-holder for Tom Harkin whose wife made millions working for Bernie Sanders, another very upstanding statesman.

“Joy Reid, who was caught with all the anti-gay, believe anti-Muslim tweets, too? She said she was hacked by a time traveler and asked the FBI to investigate it. And Lawrence O’Donnell, the guy who made up the Deutsche Bank thing that had to apologize? Rachel Maddow, who group came up with Trump’s income taxes return like it was a big scoop and had already put it in a book 20 years earlier? Did Joe Scarborough denounced him from his old congressional office in Fort Walton Beach, Florida where they found a dead girl? They’re appalled by Ronna McDaniel. Appalled.”

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