Ted Cruz beats The New York Times in book controversy

Sen. Ted Cruz is a New York Times bestselling author after all.

The Times had refused to include Cruz’s book, A Time for Truth, on its nonfiction hardcover bestseller list when it was released June 30, but it reversed course and said it has listed it this week, at No. 7.

“Yes, the book will be #7 on the non fiction list when it publishes on Friday,” Eileen Murphy, a spokeswoman for The New York Times, said in an email to the Star-Telegram.

The Texas senator, who is seeking the Republican presidential nomination, mounted a fierce campaign against the Times, which excluded his book because of bulk sales that did not meet its standards.

Cruz’s publisher, HarperCollins, denied that there were bulk sales. Cruz also suggested that an ideological agenda was at play and that the liberal Times did not want to promote a conservative author. The news outlet denied that.

Although the paper included Cruz’s book this week, Murphy did not back off earlier statements.

“This week’s NYT best seller list was arrived at using the same process as last week’s — and the week before that. That process involves a careful analysis of data, and is not influenced in any way by the content of a book, or by pressure from publishers or book sellers,” Murphy said.

“Our approach serves Times readers by authenticating broadly popular books through the confidential reporting of a wide range of retailers. In order to avoid compromising that process, we do not disclose who reports sales to us,” she said.

Cruz campaign spokesman Rick Tyler said in a statement: “What’s transpired at the New York Times in the last two weeks raises troubling questions that should concern any author. The Times’ position has been disputed by a major publishing house, and by the two largest booksellers in the nation [Amazon and Barnes & Noble].

“The New York Times has a responsibility to authors and readers to have the Public Editor Margaret Sullivan examine its methodology — and we join others in calling for the Times to do just that,” he said.

Maria Recio, 202-383-6103

Twitter: @maria_e_recio

This story was originally published July 16, 2015 at 11:14 AM with the headline "Ted Cruz beats The New York Times in book controversy."