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Fake news... No, I'm not talking about Katie Couric and other actress-journalists, although they, too, are part of the problem. I'm talking about VNR's......... from "Democracy Now.org": Friday, May 26th, 2006
FCC To Probe Network Affiliates For Airing VNRs
The Federal Communications Commission has ordered a probe of dozens of television stations that have aired Video News Releases – corporate-sponsored propaganda disguised as news coverage. The investigation was prompted by the findings of a recent Center for Media and Democracy study that found 77 TV stations around the country aired VNRs in the past 10 months. The stations are scattered throughout 30 states and are affiliated with all of the major networks: ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox.
from "DemocracyNow.org": Thursday, April 6th, 2006
AMY GOODMAN: We are talking to F.C.C. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. I also want to ask you about government-sponsored video news releases. Last year, the New York Times revealed how the Bush administration has aggressively used prepackaged ready-to-serve news reports to promote its policies. The Times found at least 20 federal agencies, including the Pentagon and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments over the past four years. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production. This is one VNR produced by the State Department. NARRATOR: The televised images from Baghdad prompted celebrations from Iraqi Americans all across the United States. They seemed to revel in the collapse of Saddam Hussein's regime, as much as they did in Baghdad. In suburban Detroit, hundreds of Iraqi Americans marched triumphantly through the streets. The community of Dearborn is home to America's largest Arab community. On Warren Avenue people chanted, "No more Saddam," as they honked horns and waved Iraqi and American flags. IRAQI AMERICAN 1: We love the United States! We love America! They help us! IRAQI AMERICAN 2: Yes! NARRATOR: In this Kansas City cafe, Iraqi Americans watch the historic events on TV. IRAQI AMERICAN 3: I'm very, very happy. I said, thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A. I love Bush, I love U.S.A., because they do that for Iraqi people’s freedom. NARRATOR: At the Arab American Center in San Jose, California: IRAQI AMERICAN 4: To see him toppled and destroyed, it's very gratifying. It's very gratifying to all of the Iraqis. NARRATOR: At this Mid-Eastern market in Denver, Colorado: IRAQI AMERICAN 5: I never heard anybody who said he wants to see Saddam stay, so they all want Saddam to go. NARRATOR: For Iraqis living in the U.S., the nearly quarter century-long nightmare in their homeland is now drawing closer to the end.
AMY GOODMAN: F.C.C. Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, that was a VNR, a government video news release that aired as a news report on many local stations around the country. What about this? The government, as well as the corporate VNRs. JONATHAN ADELSTEIN: Well, the good news on that is that the Congress has since passed a law in the wake of some of these revelations that requires government-sponsored VNRs to be disclosed to the public throughout the airing of that particular segment. Now, that doesn’t mean that that happened in the past and, in fact, we at the F.C.C. have under investigation some of these previous incidents that have been brought to our attention. For example, the Armstrong Williams incident, where he, working for the Department of Education, went on the air to publicly support the No Child Left Behind program and was paid to do so without apparently disclosing it to the public. So we’re looking into some of the past cases. Going forward, the government now is required to disclose, but one of the issues is that the corporations, while often disclosing this, are not being held to the same account, because if they do disclose it, it’s not getting put on the broadcast outlets as they’re required to do by law. And in some cases, the disclosure isn't as clear as it needs to be from the corporations. So, all of these VNRs need to be disclosed to the public. And I’m afraid that it’s not happening now with regard to corporate VNRs, and it hasn’t happened in the past with regard to government VNRs. AMY GOODMAN: Jonathan Adelstein, how much do you have from your fellow commissioners at the F.C.C. to regulate this, to enforce this? JONATHAN ADELSTEIN: Well, again, the news here is that as a result of all the controversy last spring, in April the Commission unanimously on a bipartisan basis adopted a public notice saying that we were going to enforce the rules vigorously, explaining to the broadcasters what the rules were, because apparently they seemed to have forgotten. So, we reminded them gently in April, and guess what happened. All of these revelations that the Center for Media and Democracy has come up with happened after the F.C.C. warned the broadcasters to be on notice. So apparently these warnings went unheeded. Apparently, the only way to make them actually toe the line is to enforce the law, and that's what I have committed to do, and that's what all my fellow commissioners voted unanimously to do last April. And now it’s time for us to step up to the plate and do what it is that we said we would do. AMY GOODMAN: You’re going to fine them? JONATHAN ADELSTEIN: Well, you know, we have to determine first that a violation occurred. We have to give them a chance to respond and to say whether or not they thought that they did disclose this or that somehow they weren't obligated to do so. You know, the F.C.C. -- innocent until proven guilty in this country. But if, in fact, we do determine that violations of the law occurred, we will fine them, and it’s also possible that we could launch revocation proceedings over their licenses. That's available to us as a remedy under the law. JUAN GONZALEZ: Well, I’d be interested to see if this becomes a big topic of conversation at the National Association of Broadcasters convention, which always happens the month of April and is a highly attended convention, especially by the electronics industry. But I’d like ask you, Commissioner, on another issue, there have been all kinds of hearings in Congress in recent weeks. Just yesterday, there was a House subcommittee meeting and decision on legislation that would provide national franchises to telephone telecommunications companies that want to get into cable production. Your sense of how this legislation is going and what the role of the F.C.C. will be on these issues? JONATHAN ADELSTEIN: Well, the F.C.C. does whatever Congress tells us to do. There was a defeat of an amendment requiring a build-out by these new telephone companies that are getting into the video business. There is a defeat of an effort to require network neutrality by these providers. So, you know, if Congress doesn't ask us to implement those provisions, we won't do it. I guess if people are concerned, if they’re in a minority community, a low-income community, that they’re not going to get service, they need to let their members of Congress know that, because the F.C.C. will simply do what it is that the law tells us to do. AMY GOODMAN: Finally, Diane Farsetta of the Center for Media and Democracy, where can people go to watch these corporate VNRs that have run as local news pieces on newscasts around the country? DIANE FARSETTA: Our website is www.prwatch.org, and you can see the whole report there, including the video. And just quickly, I also want to point out that we’re working with the media reform group, Free Press, as was mentioned earlier. They are doing an online action at freepress.net which will allow people to complain to the F.C.C. to make sure -- AMY GOODMAN: We’ll have to leave it there, Diane. I want to thank you for being with us.
"There are no hereditary kings in America and no powers not created by the Constitution."--US District Judge Anna Diggs Taylor in her ruling against the Bush administration’s warrantless surveillance program "My French is poor, but my heart is rich. I love France- the art-making, art-loving, and art-supporting people of France." -David Lynch
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