diff --git a/libraries/common_syndication_parser.inc b/libraries/common_syndication_parser.inc
index afaeb6b0198fdc4a2f31f1dde5569f966d7e471f..503235abf8b38b56dd0a74854f4660e677c34f89 100644
--- a/libraries/common_syndication_parser.inc
+++ b/libraries/common_syndication_parser.inc
@@ -384,9 +384,12 @@ function _parser_common_syndication_RSS20_parse($feed_XML) {
     if (!empty($news['author'])) {
       $original_author = "{$news['author']}";
     }
-    else {
+    elseif (isset($dc["creator"])) {
       $original_author = (string)$dc["creator"];
     }
+    else {
+      $original_author = NULL;
+    }
 
     if (!empty($news['link'])) {
       $original_url = "{$news['link']}";