Paterno biography: Can it recover from bad timing?
It鈥檚 being 鈥減erhaps one of the most unfortunately timed books of 2012.鈥�
And with a rejiggered game plan chock full of author event cancellations, title tweaks, and frantic changes in the publication date, it鈥檚 also a lesson in damage control for the publishing industry.
鈥淧aterno,鈥� a forthcoming biography of the late Penn State football coach by author Joe Posnanski, has made Simon & Schuster 鈥渢he latest example of a publisher that is trying to recover when the story behind a planned book changes before publication,鈥� reports in a piece on the forthcoming bio鈥檚 bad timing.
And how the story has changed. 鈥淎nnounced in March 2011 as 鈥榓 biography of America鈥檚 winningest college football coach, who changed the country one football player at a time,鈥� the book will enter the marketplace at a moment when the name of Joe Paterno, the late Penn State coach, has gone from revered to radioactive,鈥� writes the Times.
In the wake of the Penn State scandal, Paterno, who died of lung cancer in January at the age of 85 after 46 years as head coach at Penn State, has fallen hard. Following accusations of child sexual abuse by Paterno鈥檚 longtime assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky, reports emerged suggesting Paterno was aware of the abuse accusations and failed to report it. One in particular, a July 12 report by Louis J. Freeh, a former director of the FBI, that found Paterno not only failed to report accusations of abuse to police, but also renegotiated his contract in 2011 as the scandal was unfolding, 鈥渨inning himself and his family more money and perks,鈥� was particularly damaging to the late coach.聽
Since then, Paterno鈥檚 alma mater, Brown University, axed his name from a prestigious annual award and coaching position. And Penn State President Rodney Erickson ordered the removal of a statue of the late coach from outside the university鈥檚 football stadium, commenting in a , 鈥淚 believe that, were it to remain, the statue would be a recurring wound to the multitude of individuals across the nation and beyond who have been victims of child abuse.鈥�
The turn in public perception of the once-beloved JoePa has 鈥渕ade people angrier at Joe Paterno,鈥� Simon & Schuster publisher Jonathan Karp told . 鈥淎nd that has made it a more difficult environment to publish a biography about Joe Paterno.鈥�
Among the publishers' damage control measures: the release date was changed from Father鈥檚 Day 2013 to August 2012 and the title changed from a majestic 鈥淭he Grand Experiment: The Life and Meaning of Joe Paterno,鈥� to a more modest 鈥淧aterno.鈥�
What鈥檚 more, Posnanski鈥檚 book tour has been scaled back and scores of author interviews, book signings, and events have been . 鈥淲e鈥檙e sensitive about putting our author in forums where he might be viewed as a stand-in for his subject,鈥� Simon & Schuster spokeswoman Anne Tate told the Times.
Already, Sports Illustrated declined to run an excerpt in its pages and some bookstores have said they will not carry the book.
It鈥檚 a vexing challenge for any publisher certain it had a touchdown on its hands only to find itself scrambling to stay in the game. For his part, S&S publisher Karp is shifting the focus away from the once-celebrated coach to his biographer.
As he told the , 鈥淧eople can pass all the judgment they want about Joe Paterno, but Joe Posnanski deserves a chance to be read.鈥�
Husna Haq is a Monitor correspondent.
