After the "USA Today" revelations, Tribune Media Services (TMS) terminated its syndication agreement with Williams. In a statement to "Editor & Publisher" (E&P), TMS stated: "ccepting compensation in any form from an entity that serves as a subject of his weekly newspaper columns creates, at the very least, the appearance of a conflict of interest. Under these circumstances, readers may well ask themselves if the views expressed in his columns are his own, or whether they have been purchased by a third party." In response, Williams initially told E&P that he intended self-syndicate his column. E&P contacted 10 newspapers listed as clients on Williams's Web site to ask if they would continue to carry the column; the majority stated that they would not. Williams later told the Associated Press the following: "Even though I'm not a journalist — I'm a commentator — I feel I should be held to the media ethics standard. My judgment was not the best. I wouldn't do it again, and I learned from it."