Free Republic

Obama may earn millions from taxpayer-funded schools in his new book deal. Five days before taking the oath of office, President-elect Barack Obama signed a book deal with Crown Publishing Group to publish a version of his best-selling book, "Dreams from My Father", aimed at middle school and young adult age groups. Obama would receive a $500,000 advance payment against royalties, plus ongoing royalty payments. Some in the media have questioned the propriety of this deal from the angle that the President might be unduly influenced by Bertelsmann AG, the German based media publishing empire which owns Random House, which...

<p>NEW YORK - Talk show host Rosie O'Donnell plans to terminate her magazine publishing joint venture with Bertelsmann AG's Gruner + Jahr USA Publishing, people familiar with the matter said.</p> <p>The magazine, called Rosie, has been roiled since mid-summer amid battles between Ms. O'Donnell and her publisher over who has editorial control of the woman's title.</p>

June 3 — Some of the music industry’s parental-advisory labels about explicit content are about to get a bit more explicit themselves. Bertelsmann AG’s BMG record company, whose acts range from hip-hop duo OutKast to popular rock-jammers the Dave Matthews Band, Monday is set to announce plans to adopt a new system of detailed parental warnings. Acting voluntarily, BMG plans to place new advisory stickers on certain albums, specifying whether they have violent content, sexual content, strong language or some combination of the three, officials say. BMG plans to include the more-detailed warnings in advertising, including television, radio, print and...