The New York Times decided this week not to place Sen. Ted Cruz’s (R-TX) book on its bestseller list, leaving some conservatives convinced that the paper unfairly targeted the presidential candidate.
The Times told HarperCollins that Cruz’s book would not make the list, despite the fact that “A Time For Truth” sold more copies than 18 of the 20 books that appeared on the bestseller list this week, Politico reported. According to Nielsen Bookscan, Cruz sold 11,854 copies of his book in its first week.
“We have uniform standards that we apply to our best seller list, which includes an analysis of book sales that goes beyond simply the number of books sold,” Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy told HarperCollins when the publisher asked why “A Time For Truth” had been left off the list.
Murphy explained that the Times wants “the list reflect authentic best sellers, so we look at and analyze not just numbers, but patterns of sales for every book,” according to Politico.
She later said on Thursday night that the Times’ decision not to include Cruz’s book on the list was related to bulk sales of “A Time For Truth.”
“In the case of this book, the overwhelming preponderance of evidence was that sales were limited to strategic bulk purchases,” Murphy wrote in an email, according to Politico.
Given that Cruz’s book sold so many copies and that the Times has previously included books written by Republican politicians and candidates on its bestseller list, conservatives on Thursday night were outraged.
A RedState headline described the book’s exclusion as “The New York Times’ War on Ted Cruz.” Breitbart News wrote that Cruz was “snubbed” by the Times.
Twitchy, a conservative site that tracks social media, compiled a list of conservatives concerned that the Times was biased against Republicans or Cruz.
This is just embarrassing for the Times. Or ought to be… https://t.co/vMkTfHKLa8
— Stephen Hayes (@stephenfhayes) July 9, 2015
NYT meaningless reason for keep Cruz’s book off best seller list: http://t.co/XtdDMclF8o pic.twitter.com/NriSUXFxcd
— Ashe Schow (@AsheSchow) July 9, 2015
*conservative Republican in a crucial election year https://t.co/j0cnG5Yh0j
— Ashe Schow (@AsheSchow) July 9, 2015
It’s always been a rigged game. https://t.co/Fp72vRvh9s
— Noah Rothman (@NoahCRothman) July 9, 2015
Wouldn’t want the best sellers list to reflect actual number of books sold or anything. pic.twitter.com/RB7f7mkhg0
— Peter Cook (@Slublog) July 9, 2015
This is crazy and just goes to show how corrupt the media is. Manipulating book lists now if they don’t like you. https://t.co/lO4Mzb0HHj
— Christy Lynn (@ChristyLynnLSU) July 9, 2015
