As (not) seen on TV

Self-help against nominative use (or against trademark infringement/right of publicity violations, take your pick): Newspaper writer publishes book about Hurricane Katrina; Oprah calls to have writer speak on show about Katrina; writer rejoices, imagining the ching of the cash register; then the hammer drops.

If I as much as uttered the word "book," I soon found out, it would be edited out....

The reason for this is the aforementioned buying frenzy when Oprah says "book" because -- with apologies to Laura Bush -- along with many other job titles, Oprah is America's librarian, dispensing reading recommendations she believes will enlighten the masses. ("A Million Little Pieces," yes. "1 Dead in Attic," no.)

And if she casually mentions a book on the air, then publishers rush out full page ads in The New York Times that say AS SEEN ON OPRAH and it's construed as an endorsement even if it was just a passing reference and so, no talkie-talkie about bookie-bookie unless O deems it appropriate and O has apparently decided to let me rot in anonymity ....

The full article is worth reading, if only for the Charlize Theron analogy.