Bamboozled by the myth of a `free press'

Narco News stepped out on a limb in agreeing to put the entire book on its site, but publisher Al Giordano and his compadres are not new to that game. They recognize that Borderline Security offers readers a crucial perspective on law enforcement in the United States with respect to the so-called war on drugs.

The decision by Narco News to run with Borderline Security, to get the book out to the people, takes on even more importance given the corporate culture that dominates the mainstream publishing industry. The lame conformist state of the book industry in this country probably comes as no surprise to many of you, but it is still a frustrating fact of life for any author who makes the decision to commit to a journalistic project that seeks to break new ground. This may all sound like sour grapes, because Borderline Security, my book, didn’t merit the attention of the mainstream book-publishing world. There are some who will spin it that way no doubt, because it’s easier to blame the messenger. But, consider for a moment, if it’s not the messenger, then it might be the message that is preventing this book, or another book like it, from seeing the light of day in the world of the mainstream press. If that’s the case, then it’s more evidence that corporate censorship is alive and well in our so-called “free-market” society. That, too, should come as no surprise to many of you.

Sure, no for-profit company is going to publish a book that it can’t make a buck on, but how much money needs to be made? And is money the only force that keeps books out of print? Take a look at what’s on the bookstore shelves now and ask yourself whether there would really be much room for new books in the vein of Jacob Riis’ How the Other Half Lives, Lincoln Steffens, The Shame of the Cities, Upton Sinclair’s The Jungle or Ida Tarbell’s The History of the Standard Oil Company? I’m quite sure that in today’s climate those muckraking tomes would be put in line behind the books of media-whore “authors” like Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly.

But whether it is “smart business” or corporate censorship that is sidelining Borderline Security in the mainstream publishing world is not for me to decide. I’ll leave that to you, the readers. Below you will find a sample of some of the rejections I have received in my quest to find a publisher for the book. My agent says the rejections are indicative of the “Nervous Nelly” syndrome that is prevalent in the book-publishing industry today. Again, you will have to determine what really is happening, why Borderline Security has been deemed unpublishable by the powers that control the corporate editing room.

The one fact that’s clear is that I’m grateful as a writer to Narco News, because they believed in my project and devoted the time and cyberspace necessary to get the book out to folks like you. If it were not for authentic journalism forums like Narco News, we’d all be living in a darker world, one in which information is completely controlled by bean counters and careerist conformists who are more concerned about their salaries and positions than with the quality of our lives and our democracy.

And that is really what is at stake, after all.

“The ignorance of one voter in a democracy impairs the security of all.” -- John F. Kennedy

THE REJECTIONS

Random House Publishing Group

Thanks so much for giving me a chance to consider Bill Conroy's Borderline Security for Ballantine. Mr. Conroy is a strong writer…. Unfortunately, I just don't see this as having a wide enough scope for us to really break it out in this crowded market….

The Perseus Books Group

Many thanks for sending me Bill Conroy's proposal for Borderline Security. While Conroy has dug up some damning evidence about the US Customs Service, I have to say I don't really acquire in this area of investigative journalism, and I don't think Basic Books would be the most suitable house for it.

Kensington Publishing Group (Pinnacle, Zebra books, Citadel Press)

I've had a chance to read your proposal for Bill Conroy's Borderline Security ... and I'm afraid I'm going to pass. While I like it, it would be difficult to put on our nonfiction list.

Thomas Dunne Books (a division of St. Martin’s Press)

Thank you for sending me the proposal for Bill Conroy’s Borderline Security. I have no doubt that it will be a very interesting book; however, I’m afraid that it’s not quite right for my list.

Penguin Group USA

I'm returning Borderline Security by Bill Conroy. There's some chilling information here, but I think it would need to be a hardcover, and our hardcover program is not large enough at this time to do this sort of book.

Hyperion

Thanks so much for the chance to read Borderline Security by Bill Conroy. This is a comprehensive, intelligent investigation, and Mr. Conroy clearly knows that which he writes. But, ultimately, I'm just not convinced there's a wide enough audience for a book-length work on the subject of U.S. Customs Security, so I don't think I've got the vision you're looking for.

Regnery Publishing

Thank you for sending us your proposal and sample chapters of Borderline Security: A Chronicle of Reprisal, Cronyism and Corruption in the U.S. Customs Service, which takes on a large U.S. governmental agency with vigor and intelligence. It takes courage and persistence to write such an expose. Unfortunately, despite the book's interesting subject and the dedication of the author, we do not feel that it would fit into our present publishing plans.