Phil Bronstein on a potentially epic thing that didn’t come to pass:

“The best idea I ever had, that never got acted on, was to have Hunter Thompson cover the O.J. Simpson trial,” recalled Bronstein, executive editor of the San Francisco Examiner at the time. “We had an eight-hour negotiating session. Hunter wanted satellite dishes, an unlimited expense account and a suite or two at the Chateau Marmont. We were a dying afternoon paper with no budget.”

First off, you have to love Hunter’s approach to negotiating compensation – everything from the over-asking to the specific details (b/c a suite at the Chateau + unlimited expense account + satellite dishes would be just about the best thing ever, circa mid-1990s)

But then you stop and think about what a zoo the entire proceedings already were, and what the Good Doctor would have added to the mix.  Add in a few Steadman drawings of O.J. trying to slip into a leather glove and Marcia Clark, and you have yourself the stuff that Pulitzers and instant classics are made of.

Oh, also – the quote from Bronstein is funny b/c it reminds you just how long many newspapers have been struggling just to maintain a pulse.

[via]