Politico media correspondent Dylan Byers is reporting that HarperCollins, the publisher of Ted Cruz's popular new book, A Time for Truth: Reigniting the Promise of America, wrote the New York Times to inquire why, exactly, the title was not included on the bestseller list.
The Times, for its part, denies any bias or shady dealing, insisting that the book simply hasn't met all the relevant criteria for appearing on the list. Asked for a rundown of that criteria, however, the Gray Lady refused to elaborate (emphasis mine):
This week, HarperCollins, the book's publisher, sent a letter to The New York Times inquiring about Cruz's omission from the list, sources with knowledge of the situation said. The Times responded by telling HarperCollins that the book did not meet their criteria for inclusion.
"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 spokesperson Eileen Murphy explained when asked about the omission. "This book didn't meet that standard this week."
Asked to specify those standards, Murphy replied: "Our goal is that the list reflect authentic best sellers, so we look at and analyze not just numbers, but patterns of sales for every book."
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