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Displays Of Dissent

By MICHAEL SASSO msasso@tampatrib.com
Published: Oct 25, 2004

TAMPA - There's a curious way to squelch political speech this election year: Go to a bookstore, find a political book unfavorable to your cause and hide it in the cookbook section.

That is one of the nuisances that local bookstore owners are putting up with, as a bevy of conservative- and liberal-themed books fill their stores. Booksellers report being second-guessed by customers about why they display certain political titles and are accused of partisanship.

In some cases, customers complain in person or in letters that too many pro-George Bush or pro-John Kerry books are displayed. In others, they are hiding books in the store.

"Customers that are sensitive to political things have a much greater chance of seeing [unfavorable books] and mentioning it to managers," said Ray Hinst, co-owner of Haslam's Book Store in St. Petersburg. "We had someone take copies of "Unfit for Command" and stick them somewhere else in the store, the cookbook section or something."

This year has seen an exceptional number of political books published, many with vitriolic titles, such as the anti-Bush tome "Bushwhacked," and the anti-John Kerry "Unfit for Command." Publishers Weekly, a publishing industry journal, reports there have been more than 30 best sellers in the political category published in 2004. Of the 16 books on the most recent New York Times best-seller list for hardcover, nonfiction books, 11 have political themes.

Last week, half of the eight independent or chain-owned bookstores surveyed by the Tribune reported receiving complaints from customers that they were carrying too many liberal or conservative books, or that they were displaying them too prominently. In St. Petersburg, Hinst reports getting several comments from customers per week that he displays certain partisan books too prominently. Hinst said he has progressive political views and carries many such books, but he also tries to carry conservative-leaning books, including several by Rush Limbaugh.

Hinst first noticed minor acts of political sabotage when Limbaugh published "The Way Things Ought to Be" in 1992.

"Because it was on the best-seller list, we would have it prominently displayed and people would pull it out of the book [displays] and either turn them all backward and stick them someplace else in the store."

In Tampa, the independent store Inkwood Books is selling more liberal-leaning books at the moment, but that may because there are more of them on the market, co-owner Leslie Reiner said. Among the hot sellers are filmmaker Michael Moore's books, including "Will They Ever Trust Us Again?," about soldiers' experiences in Iraq, and reporter Seymour Hersh's "Chain of Command," a critical look at the road to the Iraq war.

Reiner is trying to bridge the gap between liberal and conservatives with Inkwood's Open Mind Sale: buy a book that leans Democratic or Republican and get half off of a book that slants the other way.

"We've had a few people take advantage of it, which is fun," Reiner said.

Haslam's, Inkwood and a few other stores said they are trying to stay relatively neutral in how they stock and display political books. Hinst said that books that hit the best-seller lists naturally get the most prominent space at Haslam's, regardless of their politics. Borders Group Inc., one of the country's biggest booksellers, receives enough customer comments about bias that it distributes a one-page statement to media and customers that professes the company's neutrality.

On Friday, Borders public relations manager Beth Bingham said: "We've had concerns from customers on both sides of the issue saying, `Gee, I wish you didn't carry this book, or I wish you didn't carry that book.' We've had calls about it, and just like our statement says, we are a retailer, we are completely apolitical."

Campaign contributions listed on the Web site OpenSecrets.org, kept by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, revealed no contributions to federal candidates of either party by top Borders executives. However, the Web site showed significant contributions to Democratic candidates by Leonard Riggio, chairman of rival bookseller Barnes & Noble, and other senior Barnes & Noble executives. A Barnes & Noble spokesman did not return calls Friday.

At least one bookstore, Sarasota News & Books, is upfront with its progressive leanings. Recently, the bookstore has sponsored talks and book signings by several prominent Democratic and progressive authors, including U.S. Sen. Bob Graham, former Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern, Democratic strategist Donna Brazile and The Nation columnist Eric Alterman.

Caren Lobo, co-owner of Sarasota News & Books, acknowledges that her bookstore is weighted with liberal books. That perturbs some people who claim that bookstores are forums for political thought and that her store, therefore, should try to be neutral. On occasion, people have been "verbally abusive" with their complaints about her partisanship or have written letters of protest, she said.

Nonetheless, she tries to carry a few conservative-leaning books. In fact, it was a conservative book, U.S. Rep. Katherine Harris' memoir of the 2000 presidential election, "Center of the Storm," that was sabotaged by a few customers.

"People came in and turned it around, turned it upside down, left little nasty notes," Lobo said.

Tribune research Angie Drobnic Holan contributed to this report. Reporter Michael Sasso can be reached at (813) 259-7865.

[original article]

Posted by thinkum at October 26, 2004 03:38 PM