December 7, 2004

Richard S. Newcombe
President and CEO
Creators Syndicate
5777 West Century Blvd., Suite 700
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Dear Mr. Newcombe:

It has come to our attention at Media Matters for America that Creators Syndicate has distributed Sam Francis's recent column, in which he decried the interracial casting of an ABC Monday Night Football promotional spot. In the column, Francis described the ad's suggestion of an interracial sexual relationship as “an intentional act of moral subversion.”

The ad features a white woman (actress Nicolette Sheridan of ABC's Desperate Housewives) and a black football star (Terrell Owens of the Philadelphia Eagles) in a locker room, engaging in a sexually explicit discussion. According to the November 26 column, “Morality Not the Only Target on Monday Night Football,” Francis believes the purpose of the ad is to “hurl a pie in the face of morals and good taste but also of white racial and cultural identity.” He continued, “The message of the ad was that the white women are eager to have sex with black men, that they should be eager, and that black men should take them up on it.” Francis concluded:

Breaking down the sexual barriers between the races is a major weapon of cultural destruction because it means the dissolution of the cultural boundaries that define breeding and the family, and ultimately, the transmission and survival of the culture itself.

We strongly condemn the clear bigotry in this column and assume that newspaper editors across the country feel the same way, as a search of newspapers available on Nexis revealed that none have chosen to run the column. Regardless, Creators' willingness to distribute such abhorrent views calls into question the syndicate's ethical and editorial standards.

Considering the above passages, we are looking forward to hearing your explanation as to why your syndicate judges Sam Francis to be an appropriate columnist for your roster.

Sincerely,

David Brock
President and CEO
Media Matters for America

cc: Karen Duryea, Senior Editor