Moral Outreach Society
Protecting American Family Values Since 1989
Because Decency Matters
Archived correspondence, findings, and documentation. The record does not lie.
Archivist's Note
The Moral Outreach Society has maintained a complete record of its correspondence, research findings, and internal communications since its founding in 1989. Select documents are reproduced here in the interest of public transparency. Certain materials remain restricted pending ongoing review. Redactions appear where necessary to protect individuals not party to the public record.
Featured Document — The 1992 Fan Club Letter
Moral Outreach Society
Protecting American Family Values Since 1989 · Because Decency Matters
November 1992 · Easton, Pennsylvania
Dear Friend and Neighbor,
It is with a heavy heart that we reach out to you today.
Our organization has recently become aware that you or a member of your family has enrolled in the "Crackids Fan Club" — a paid membership program associated with the television program Crackodile & Friends, currently airing on public access television.
We do not write to alarm you. We write because someone must.
The Moral Outreach Society has spent the better part of three years documenting the subtle — and not so subtle — erosion of wholesome family programming on our airwaves. Crackodile & Friends represents perhaps our most troubling case to date. While the program presents itself as educational children's entertainment, our researchers have catalogued numerous instances of questionable messaging, suspicious character associations, and what we can only describe as a troubling agenda hiding beneath a family-friendly facade.
We need not spell out specifics here. We suspect, on some level, you already know.
Mr. Crackodile did not arrive in this country without a past. He did not enter children's television without allies. And he did not build a fan club without a purpose.
We simply ask that you pay attention.
The Moral Outreach Society will continue to monitor Crackodile & Friends and report our findings to concerned parents, community leaders, and anyone else willing to listen.
We will not be silent.
For decency. For the children. For America.
Sincerely,
Gerald P. Whitmore
Director of Community Standards · Moral Outreach Society
"We do not write to alarm you. We write because someone must."
Additional Documents On File
This memorandum initiates formal documentation of the public access program known as Crackodile & Friends, produced by an entity identifying itself as MOS Productions. The program began airing in January 1992 and has attracted a notable viewership among children aged 4–12 in the Lehigh Valley area.
It is the assessment of this office that the program warrants close and sustained observation. Preliminary review of available broadcast materials has surfaced several items requiring further investigation, including but not limited to: the character's country of origin, the nature of the production company's organizational structure, and the purpose of the newly announced fan club program.
Research committee to convene at earliest availability. All materials to be retained.
After eight months of sustained observation, this committee presents its quarterly findings regarding Crackodile & Friends and associated programming materials.
The program has expanded its reach significantly, launching a paid fan club — the "Crackids Fan Club" — with membership materials distributed directly to enrolled children. The club's stated values of "Safety, Loyalty, and Membership" are noted. This committee has concerns regarding the sequencing of these values and what each is intended to mean in practice.
Additionally, the production company has begun distributing educational materials to schools and community organizations in the Lehigh Valley. This committee recommends escalation to a formal public outreach effort. Draft correspondence attached as Appendix REDACTED.
This document and its contents are not available for public review at this time.
Inquiries regarding the suspension of MOS operations in 1993 may be directed in writing to the Director of Community Standards. Responses will be provided at the discretion of this office.
ACCESS RESTRICTED — CONTACT DIRECTOR'S OFFICE
It has come to our attention that Crackodile & Friends has returned. A website is active. Merchandise is in circulation. A coloring book — titled, with what we can only interpret as deliberate audacity, Winners Don't Lose Drugs — is being sold directly to the public.
We have reviewed the coloring book. We have reviewed the website. We have reviewed the merchandise. We have noted, with interest, that the production company responsible for the revival operates under the name Symitri Productions — a name that does not appear anywhere in our original case files, and which we are currently investigating.
We wish to be clear: the Moral Outreach Society did not close its case in 1993. We suspended operations. The case remained open. It remains open now. And we intend to see it through.
On Document Requests
Members of the public, journalists, and concerned parents may request copies of non-restricted MOS documents by writing to our offices at the address below. The Moral Outreach Society believes in transparency. We have nothing to hide. We are not the ones who should be hiding anything.