Conservative books triumph as sales surge

NEWS AND OPINION:

The nation favors books with conservative content, according to Publishers Weekly, an industry source which particularly cites sales numbers from Salem Media, a source for conservative-leaning books along with radio programming, online and on-demand video content, podcasts, websites and other fare.

“Sales at Salem Media’s publishing division jumped 69% in the second quarter … to $6.6 million, over the comparable period in 2020. The unit is comprised primarily of Regnery Publishing and the self-publishing business Salem Author Services,” Publishers Weekly said in a new report.

Book sales at Regnery alone increased by $2 million in the quarter, with sales up by 197%, the report said.

“Regnery publisher Tom Spence said that, in addition to improved retail sales, a string of frontlist bestsellers, as well as improved backlist sales, drove the sales gain. The top seller was ‘Fault Lines’ by Voddie T. Baucham, which Spence described as a surprise hit from its Christian imprint, Salem Books, which sold more than 90,000 hardcover copies. A second title from Salem, ‘Christianity and Wokeness’ by Owen Strachan, had large pre-order numbers ahead of its August release,” the publishing report noted.

“American Marxism” by Fox News host Mark R. Levin remains No. 1 on the bestseller lists of Publishers Weekly, Amazon and The New York Times, and was published by Threshold Editions, the conservative imprint of Simon & Schuster.

Other conservative publishers include Broadside Books, Center Street, All Season Press, Liberty Hill Publishing Defiance Press and Humanix Books, a division of Newsmax Media.

The New York Times itself has noticed the trend. “In backlash to racial reckoning, conservative publishers see gold,” the news organization said in an analysis on Monday.

In the meantime, Regnery — founded in 1947 — was the first to publish such iconic conservative authors as William F. Buckley Jr. and Whittaker Chambers. And the publisher has a hefty backlist.

“Our list of authors reads like a ‘who’s who’ of conservative thought and action, including Ann Coulter, David Limbaugh, Michelle Malkin, Dinesh D’Souza, Newt Gingrich, Mark Steyn, Mark Levin, Ed Klein, David Horowitz, Laura Ingraham, Donald Trump, and many more. Regnery has boasted one of the best batting averages in the publishing business – placing more than 50 books on the New York Times bestseller list,” the publisher said in a statement.

AFGHANISTAN COVERAGE: A SUMMATION

Media coverage of the Afghanistan crisis is under scrutiny and the results are not good, particularly when comparing the treatment of President Biden versus that of former President Donald Trump.

“Corporate media spent Biden’s entire presidency up to now hyping Biden’s looming exit from Afghanistan, after painting the Trump team as incompetent. Now, the Biden team has woefully failed to deliver. Biden’s failure to have any perceptible strategy in pulling out of Afghanistan is exactly what the media predicted from Trump, and assured us would never happen under the gentleman from Scranton,” wrote Elle Reynolds, assistant editor at The Federalist.

“And now they look like idiots, who never knew what they were talking about (or if they did, were never honest about it). As the Biden administration seeks to blame its embarrassing failure on Trump — an excuse that doesn’t hold up under the most basic scrutiny — some in the media will surely seek to cover their own role in the fiasco by doing the same thing,” Ms. Reynolds said.

IF YOU WANT TO HELP

Charity Navigator — an independent evaluator of 160,000 charitable organizations — has assembled two comprehensive lists of highly rated nonprofit groups which are providing relief and aid donations for those affected by the developing crisis in Afghanistan and the recent major earthquake in Haiti.

For information, go to CharityNavigator.org and consult the “Hot Topics” pull-down menu.

THE IVY-COVERED HALLS

The University of Southern California has opted to partially defund its campus police department following requests from student and faculty activists, according to the Campus Fix, a news organization featuring student reporters and analysts.

“Mental health professionals and social services experts will replace police for some calls,” the report said.

The publication also reports that the University of Toronto will scrub the word “police” from use by its law enforcement branch. The “UT Campus Police” have been renamed “The University of Toronto Campus Safety-Special Constable Service.”

“Our Service’s re-brand comes with a fresh new visual identity — one that we believe is approachable, accessible and distinguishable. The University community can expect to see this new visual identity reflected in changes that are forthcoming to our vehicle markings, uniforms and our online presence,” the Canadian campus said in a statement.

FOXIFIED

During the week of Aug. 9-16, Fox News retained its title of the top network in the entire cable kingdom, according to Nielsen Media Research.

This is the 26th consecutive week and sixth straight month that Fox News has led the pack of both news and non-news competition, earning 2.2 million prime-time viewers. MSNBC drew 1.3 million viewers, HGTV 1.1 million, Hallmark Channel 832,000 and CNN 779,000 during the ratings period.

Among the stand-outs: “Sunday Night in America with Trey Gowdy” delivered the highest-rated cable news show of the weekend with 2 million viewers. As usual, “Tucker Carlson Tonight” and “Hannity” were at the very top, drawing 2.9 million and 2.6 million viewers, respectively.

POLL DU JOUR

• 60% of U.S. voters “strongly disapprove” of President Biden’s handling of U.S. military operations in Afghanistan; 80% of Republicans 65% of independents and 36% of Democrats agree.

• 10% of voters “disapprove”; 8% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 11% of Democrats agree.

• 12% overall “approve”; 3% of Republicans, 9% of independents and 22% of Democrats agree.

• 10% “strongly approve”; 4% of Republicans 10% of independents and 16% of Democrats agree.

• 7% have no opinion; 4% of Republicans 5% of independents and 12% of Democrats agree.

SOURCE: A Convention of States Action/Trafalgar Group poll of 1,084 “likely 2022 election voters” conducted Aug. 14-15.

• Kindly follow Jennifer Harper on Twitter @HarperBulletin.