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Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed... How Corporate-Funded
Propaganda Is Airing On Local Newscasts As "News"
"The Queen of the VNR" Robin Raskin Reveals Why
She Appears In Corporate-Sponsored "News Segments"
& Why She Feels Stations Need To Disclose Who Is Funding
the VNRs
FCC Commissioner Says Broadcasting VNRs Without Disclosure
May Violate Federal Law
Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed... How Corporate-Funded
Propaganda Is Airing On Local Newscasts As "News"
A new study being released today by the Center for Media
and Democracy found at least 77 TV stations around the country
have aired corporate-sponsored video news releases over the
past 10 months. The report accuses the TV stations of actively
disguising the content - which has been paid for by companies
like General Motors, Panasonic and Pfizer - to make it appear
to be their own reporting. In a broadcast exclusive we speak
with the authors of the report and air examples of the video
news releases. [includes rush
transcript]
A new study being released today by the Center for Media
and Democracy reveals that at least 77 TV stations around
the country have been caught airing corporate-sponsored propaganda
disguised as news news releases in the past 10 months. Companies
funding the video news releases include General Motors, Intel
and Pfizer.
The stations are scattered throughout 30 states and are affiliated
with all of the major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox. And
many of the stations are owned by some of the country's largest
media companies including Clear Channel, News Corp, Viacom,
the Tribune Company and Sinclair Broadcast.
The study by the Center
for Media and Democracy is called "Fake TV News:
Widespread and Undisclosed" [Read
Report]. The authors of the report charge that these TV
stations actively disguise the corporate-sponsored content
to make it appear to be their own reporting.
Until now, television news directors have downplayed how
often VNRs made it onto air. Last year Barbara Cochran, president
of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, compared
VNRs to the Loch Ness monster. She said "Everyone talks
about it, but not many people have actually seen it."
Today we are going to spend the hour looking at how fake
news is making its way onto the airwaves of local newscasts.
We will speak with the authors of the report, as well as a
consultant who has appeared in several video news releases
[See Part II of DN's Fake TV News Special] and with FCC Commissioner
Jonathan Adelstein [See Part III of DN's Fake TV News Special]
who has said he was stunned by the findings of Fake TV News
report.
But first we will air some examples of how video news releases
are used.
Four weeks ago, the Fox affiliate in South Bend Indiana aired
a video news release produced by the PR company Medialink
for General Motors. The video was narrated by Medialink's
Andrew Schmertz. When the VNR aired on March 16, the local
anchor introduced Andrew as if he were a Fox reporter.
That video news release aired on WSJV in South Bend Indiana.
The station's news director, Ed Kral, declined to join us
on today's program. He described it as an accident that the
VNR aired as it did.
The same VNR aired on two other stations: KOSA Channel 7
in Odessa Texas and WWTV Channel 9 in Cadillac Michigan.
None of the three stations divulged to listeners that the
feature was produced by Medialink and funded by General Motors.
In fact, of the 87 VNR broadcasts documented in the Fake TV
News study, not once did the TV station specifically disclose
who funded the VNR to the news audience.
Medialink also produced a video news release about ethanol,
funded by the company Siemans which supplies automation systems
to two-thirds of the ethanol plants in the country. Medialink
sent a publicist named Kate Brookes to Iowa to act like a
reporter covering the story.
Here is part of the original Video News Release that was
distributed by Medialink in January.
- Video news release from Medialink
At least five stations then took that corporate-funded VNR
and broadcasted it. KTNV Channel 13 in Las Vegas aired it
on January 19th.
- Watch broadcast from KTNV
That video news release is one of the 36 VNRs highlighted
in the new study by the Center for Media and Democracy called
Fake TV News. The authors of the study, Diane Farsetta and
Daniel Price, join us now in Washington for this broadcast
exclusive interview. Welcome to Democracy Now!
- Diane Farsetta, senior researcher at the Center for Media
and Democracy. She is co-author of the report, "Fake
TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed"
- Daniel Price, co-author of the Center for Media and Democracy's
report "Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed."
"The Queen of the VNR" Robin Raskin Reveals
Why She Appears In Corporate-Sponsored "News Segments"
& Why She Feels Stations Need To Disclose Who Is Funding
the VNRs
We air a video news release featuring Raskin funded by Panasonic,
Namco and Techno Source and talk to the "Internet Mom"
Robin Raskin about the ethics behind video news releases,
why she doesn't disclose her corporate ties on her broadcasts
or websites and how even many news programmers question whether
their newscasts should feature corporate-sponsored features.
[includes rush
transcript]
The Center for Media and Democracy's new report a "Fake
TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed" highlights the
work of a video news release discussing best and worst high-tech
gifts for children of 2005. Portions of it aired on several
stations including WPGH Channel 13 in Pittsburgh.
The report reads:
In it, technology expert and "Internet Mom" Robin
Raskin warned parents about two potentially dangerous items
on the market while praising four that are safe and fun for
kids.
What WPGH viewers didn't know is that the story was actually
a video news release (VNR) created by D S Simon Productions
and jointly funded by Panasonic, Namco and Techno Source.
By no coincidence, all of the products Raskin recommends-the
Oxyride battery, the Pac-Man and We Love Katamari games, and
the Coleco retro gaming system-come from either Panasonic,
Namco or Techno Source.
Even more insidious, the two products Raskin deems unsafe-Apple's
Video iPod and Tiger Telematics' Gizmondo handheld gaming
device-are direct commercial competitors of two of the three
VNR sponsors. Panasonic offers a rival line of MP3 players
while Techno Source battles Tiger Telematics in the handheld
gaming market.
By itself, this VNR is little more than a tri-company infomercial
that plugs numerous products while trashing its competitors.
And yet when laundered through credibility of TV journalism,
viewers are deceived into thinking they're watching an independent
news report with an impartial consumer expert.
Of the seven stations who incorporated the VNR into their
newscasts, none disclosed the funding source of the story...
In addition to the VNR, Raskin appeared live in a satellite
media tour (SMT), a coordinated series of remote interviews
in which a subject interacts directly with the station anchors.
The SMT, like the VNR, was coordinated by D S Simon Productions
on behalf of Panasonic, Namco and Techno Source. Two stations,
KGUN-9 (Tucson, AZ) and WBRC-6 (Birmingham, AL), ran the live
SMT without informing viewers that Raskin's appearance was
funded by the makers of the very products she was praising.
In a moment we will speak to Robin Raskin herself but first
we play one of her video news release.
- Video news release on the best and worst high-tech gifts
for children of 2005. It was created by D S Simon Productions
and jointly funded by Panasonic, Namco and Techno Source.
We are joined now on the program by Robin Raskin.
- Robin Raskin, she is the former editor in chief of FamilyPC
and has written extensively about technology and parenting.
She now serves as a consultant to publishing and high tech
companies and has appeared in several video news releases.
She also runs the website RobinRaskin.com
FCC Commissioner Says Broadcasting VNRs Without Disclosure
May Violate Federal Law
We speak with FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein about
the widespread use of corporate-funded video news releases
by news stations without disclosure. Adelstein says, "There's
a federal law that requires that the public be informed about
the source of who is behind what goes on broadcast media.
Failure to disclose that to the public is a violation of federal
law and in fact can be subject to criminal penalties of up
to a year in jail." [includes rush
transcript]
The Center for Media and Democracy and the media reform
group Free Press have announced they are filing formal complaints
with the Federal Communications Commission over news stations
airing corporate-funded video news releases. We speak with
FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein who calls the use of VNRs
without disclosure "outrageous behavior and disgraceful
journalism." The Center for Media and Democracy and the
media reform group Free Press have announced they are filing
formal complaints with the Federal Communications Commission
over news stations airing corporate funded video news releases.
In their official
complaint, the groups write: "undisclosed VNRs have
compromised local news programming in every market. This situation
must be remedied immediately. The Commission should clarify
and enforce its sponsorship identification rules and strongly
penalize stations that air fake news."
The letter also suggests there are direct ties between consolidation
of local TV stations and the apparent increase of the use
of television VNRs.
Free Press and the Center for Media and Democracy are asking
the FCC determine whether station consolidation contributes
directly to these types of violations before the Commission
reconsiders rewriting the nation's broadcast ownership rules.
We are joined now in Washington by FCC Commissioner Jonathan
Adelstein.
- Jonathan Adelstein, a member of the Federal Communications
Commission.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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