Ann Coulter's Syndicate Responds, Says It Won't Drop Her Column
March 7, 2007 -- 10:19 AM EST // // Post a Comment
As you may have heard by now, Universal Press Syndicate, the outfit that syndicates Ann Coulter's column, is coming under tremendous pressure to drop Coulter's column in the wake of her "faggot" comment. The gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, for instance, launched a letter-writing campaign late yesterday demanding that UPS nix her column.
Well, I've just gotten in touch with UPS, and they've delivered their answer: No.
I spoke with Kathie Kerr, UPS's assistant vice president of communications, and asked about calls to drop Coulter. She told me that UPS has a response letter that UPS editor and President Lee Salem sends to people who write in about Coulter. Here is his letter:
Thank you for taking the time to write. The contracts with the many writers and cartoonists we represent call for specific products and we have no legal interest in what they may do or say outside of that relationship. In the case of Ann Coulter (and others across the political spectrum whom readers have urged us to drop), she is not an employee and we have no legal power to "fire" her, though, of course, any of her subscribing newspapers can drop her column at any time. Whether the words she chose in referring to John Edwards were misplaced humor or outright bigotry, we would not have distributed them in her column.Lee Salem
President and Editor
Universal Press Syndicate
I asked Ms. Kerr if UPS would be issuing a response directly about HRC's campaign. From her email to me:
Universal Press Syndicate Editor and President Lee Salem is answering some emails that are not form letters, as these from the GLBT blog are generating. Our response to this campaign and others are basically the same as we have always said, which is we can only address what is said by our columnists in their print column.
So there you have it.
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