Lawmakers Introduce Legislation to Stop Covert Propaganda by the Administration
Lautenberg-Kerry Bill Subject of Hearing and Will be Marked-Up After the Recess

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WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, United States Senators Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and John F. Kerry (D-MA) introduced legislation to protect the American people from covert propaganda produced by the government. The legislation would require that "prepackaged news stories" produced by the Administration contain a disclosure of the source of the material. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has ruled that the Administration's use of "prepackaged news stories" was illegal "covert propaganda" because the government's role was not disclosed to viewers. On March 11th 2005, the Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice issued memos to all executive branch agencies ordering them to ignore the GAO ruling and gave the green light to further use of fake news stories that hide the government's role in their production.

The Lautenberg-Kerry Truth in Broadcasting Act would follow the legal ruling of the GAO and establish permanent federal law that prepackaged news stories by the government must disclose the government's role with a disclaimer. The disclaimer would run continuously throughout the "news story." Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Stevens has committed to holding a hearing and a markup on the bill in early May. "Our government should not be in the business of fooling the public with fake news stories," said Lautenberg. "If President Bush wants to promote his views, he can do that, but he should not hide behind fake reporters to get his message out. The President already has the 'Bully Pulpit' -- he shouldn't need to use puppets pretending to be reporters."

"I am really looking forward to the hearing on our bill. The American people deserve to know that they're not just watching the administration's spin on their local newscasts -- they're paying for it, too. It's one thing to watch Jon Stewart on television. It's another to imitate him with Americans' hard-earned tax dollars. In a time of record-budget deficits, we need to address this abuse of the public trust and waste of money," said Kerry.

Lautenberg and Kerry introduced similar legislation as an amendment to a bill before the Senate Commerce Committee on April 14th. The Senators withdrew their amendment in exchange for Chairman Ted Stevens' (R-AK) commitment to hold a hearing and mark-up on the legislation.

These fake news stories have run -- undisclosed -- on several television news stations on a number of topics including the Medicare prescription drug law and to promote the President's "No Child Left Behind Act". At least 20 federal agencies have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments over the past four years.

Fact sheet available upon request.

No Fake News - Center For Media and Democracy

A Fake End to Fake News
By Diane Farsetta PR Watch Posted October 25, 2005.

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An act designed to end government propaganda is altered to the PR industry's approval. Tools
"Myself and others felt violated by the first bill," said Doug Simon, the founder, president and CEO of D S Simon Productions, a major producer of the faux television news reports known as video news releases (VNRs).

Simon was referring to the Truth in Broadcasting Act (S 967). In its original incarnation, this bill would have required a "conspicuous" disclosure to accompany any government-produced or -funded prepackaged VNR or the radio equivalent, an audio news release (ANR).

For VNRs, the Act rightly mandated "continuous" on-screen notification of the material's source, such as the words "Produced by the U.S. Government." Moreover, the Act made it illegal to remove the disclosure.

That Act was considered by the Senate Commerce Committee on October 20. What the committee passed, however, was significantly different. Even the name had changed, to the "Prepackaged News Story Announcement Act."

And now, Doug Simon likes it.

"Clearly when they initially brought the legislation, they didn't have a full understanding of our industry," Simon told O'Dwyer's PR Daily. Broadcasting & Cable reported that he was "pleased" by the changes.

Barbara Cochran, the president of the Radio-Television News Directors Association, had joined Simon in testifying against the original Act, back in May. Considering the revised measure, she remarked, "Our arguments seemed to be persuasive."

What changes were made and why do they have "industry officials who have resisted the labeling" now "hailing the bill as a victory," as TV Week wrote?

First, the revised Act drops the continuous on-screen notification requirement for VNRs. Second, it calls for "clear notification within the text or audio of the prepackaged news story," without specifying the minimum requirements for audience disclosure. Most troubling, it allows that disclosure to be removed altogether, following rules that the Act requires the Federal Communications Commission to develop.

According to to TV Week, Cochran summarized the effect of these changes as: "The bill clears the way for TV news operations to continue using snippets of government-produced VNRs for [video footage] in their own stories, as they do currently, leaving the issue of how to identify the material up to station news personnel." The problem is that nondisclosure -- that's covert propaganda -- is currently the norm.

Much of the industry's opposition to the original Act was presented in terms of newsroom independence. "Let's not limit the rights of stations," Simon urged. But what about the right of viewers or listeners to know the source of the material those newsrooms broadcast? Is disclosure less important when a report on something as controversial as war in Iraq or Afghanistan or reconstruction in the Gulf states post-Katrina contains 75 percent government-supplied footage? What about if it's 50 percent?

There's one more potential problem, and it could be a big one. The TV Week story claimed, "The approved bill also makes clear that the labeling requirements apply only when broadcasters and cable TV operators opt to air 'prepackaged news stories' in their entirety."

Presumably, they're referring to the Act's definition of a "prepackaged news story" as a "complete, ready-to-use audio or video news segment" (emphasis added). That's the same language as in the original measure. But whether that means there are absolutely no disclosure requirements if anything less than a full VNR or ANR package is broadcast is unclear, at least to me.

If TV Week's right, though, the revised Act has no teeth, nails or protection for news audiences. For resource-strapped newsrooms, avoiding admitting that the report on the government you just broadcast actually came from the government would be as simple as shaving off a single sound bite.

But even with all these caveats, the fact that the revised Act did make it out of the Senate Commerce Committee is a step, however small, in the right direction. The legislative process is far from over, and the Act's language can be strengthened as easily as it was weakened -- if concerned citizens get involved.

According to observers of the committee meeting, the Act's main sponsors, Senators Lautenberg and Kerry, "tried to make it much stronger," but did not have the support of their colleagues. That can change if enough U.S. residents call or write their two Senators and Representative, to demand clear, conspicuous disclosure accompanying all video or audio footage coming from the government. In the case of VNRs, that must be a continuous, on-screen notification. For ANRs, that must be an announcement, prior to and/or following the provided audio.

The fight is far from over -- in fact, it just got more important. Get active and stay tuned.

Diane Farsetta is senior researcher at the Center for Media and Democracy.

PR Watch:

Disinformation is deliberately misleading information announced publicly or leaked by a government, intelligence agency, corporation or other entity for the purpose of influencing opinions or perceptions.

Unlike misinformation, which is also a form of wrong information, disinformation is produced by people who intend to deceive their audience.

A group might plant disinformation in reports, in press releases, in public statements or in practically any other routine, occasional or unusual communique. Disinformation can also be leaked, or covertly released to a source who can be trusted to repeat the false information.

A common disinformation tactic is to mix truth, half-truths, and lies. Disinformants sometimes seek to gain the confidence of their audience through emotional appeals or by using semi-neutral language interlaced with threads of disinformation.

"Disinformation is a fact of life in politics. Those who practice politics for a living call it "spin." Honest people call it lying through your teeth." Says Doug Thompson

Video New Releases

Stop News Fraud

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24 June 2005
FCC MULLS EXPANDING REGULATION FOR PREPACKAGED NEWS, PRSA CALLS FOR VIGOROUS APPLICATION OF EXISTING INDUSTRY-WIDE DISCLOSURE STANDARDS

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NEW YORK (June 24, 2005)-- Sufficient industry standards are already in place for the production and dissemination of video news releases to ensure the public is fully informed about the sources and financial sponsorship of prepackaged news materials, the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) told the federal agency that regulates broadcast media.

Responding to the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) call for comment on whether government rules and regulations for prepackaged news should be expanded, PRSA, the world's largest organization representing public relations professionals, reiterated its position that broadcasters and producers of prepackaged news materials are obligated to fully inform the public about who provided the information contained in the material and who paid for the production.

In a 32-page filing with the FCC, PRSA said existing federal law and regulation, coupled with self-enforcement ethical standards embraced by broadcasters and the public relations profession, will ensure that disclosure occurs.

"PRSA shares the view of the FCC that the public is best served by full disclosure of sources and sponsorship of prepackaged materials such as VNRs," said Judith T. Phair, APR, Fellow, PRSA, president and CEO of PRSA. "We also believe that existing rules and regulations, coupled with vigorous self-regulation by all those involved at every level in the production and dissemination of prepackaged broadcast materials, will achieve the purpose of full disclosure."

The FCC called for review of existing rules and regulations on two types of prepackaged news materials  those involving financial or promotional considerations for broadcasters who air them and those involving "controversial" or "political subjects." The commission review followed well-publicized instances in 2004 in which some broadcasters aired government-sponsored VNRs on controversial presidential issues without identifying the source.

"Paying a television station to air a VNR or a prepackaged segment is advertising, not news," said Phair. "The public has a right to know this is the case. The FCC has disclosure provisions for both broadcasters and those who provide materials under such circumstances, and there is no question those rules should be enforced and penalties imposed on those who violate them."

But most VNRs and prepackaged material are distributed free to broadcasters to use at their discretion in news shows and other programs, and there is no payment or promotional consideration for broadcasters who elect to use any part of those materials, Phair added. FCC regulations, however, only cover those "free" materials if they're deemed to be political or controversial. Under those circumstances, broadcasters must disclose sources and financial sponsorship of the materials or face penalties.

According to Phair, PRSA pointed out to the FCC that most VNRs and prepackaged materials are clearly labeled when they are delivered to broadcast organizations. In the instances that prompted both the FCC inquiry and some legislative initiatives in Congress, there appears to have been a procedural breakdown in which identifying labeling was removed when materials were distributed by a network to local affiliates. The problem was exacerbated by use of a public relations person appearing as a journalist "reporting from Washington." Some local affiliates aired the full segments as if they had been news reports produced by the network.

"Clearly our industry must continuously educate practitioners about the ethics and responsibilities in the production of prepackaged broadcast news materials," Phair said. "We should never attempt to mislead the public into believing that the materials were produced by an independent news organization."

The full PRSA comment to the FCC

About the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)
The Public Relations Society of America is based in New York City, is the world's largest organization for public relations professionals. The Society has more than 28,000 professional and student members. PRSA is organized into 114 Chapters nationwide, 19 Professional Interest Sections, along with Affinity Groups, which represent business and industry, counseling firms, independent practitioners, military, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. The Public Relations Student Society of America (PRSSA) has 262 Chapters at colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Medialink Worldwide (commonly referred to as Medialink) refers to itself as "a global leader in corporate media communications services," connecting corporate clients with news industry producers. Medialink boasts proprietary databases used in audience research, while a partnership with the Associated Press puts the news releases of Medialink clients on the desks of most United States' television news editors. Medialink claims credit for having pioneered the video news release.

Laurence (Larry) Moskowitz is the President, Chief Executive and Chairman of the Board of Medialink Worldwide

Self-Description
"By leveraging relationships with news organizations, Medialink rapidly alerts and disseminates clients' news to every major newsroom in the United States. Similarly, international distribution relationships enable Medialink to reach virtually any audience, in any country, through any news medium. Each year, Medialink generates tens of thousands of broadcast news airings worldwide reaching billions of viewers, listeners and readers on media as diverse as CNN, The New York Times, ABC, Sky News, The Washington Post, BBC, Bloomberg Radio, AOL, Yahoo! and China Central Television, the national television station of the People's Republic of China," Medialink states in its 2003 annual report.

"Medialink enables its clients to reach more than 11,000 newsrooms at television and radio networks, local stations, cable channels, direct broadcast satellite systems, as well as more than 11,000 online multimedia newsrooms," it states.

Medialink makes no pretence that it is neutral when it comes to helping its clients. "Whether a situation calls for expert counsel during a high-profile litigation crisis or an ongoing campaign to introduce a new consumer product or defeat proposed legislation, Medialink is an integral member of the client's strategy team," Medialink states in its 2003 Annual Report.

Back to the Future with Sponsored "News"
"As the media world assesses new ground rules, producer Medialink Worldwide says 'branded journalism' is the best way to advertise in a splintered market," reported the television industry news source Broadcasting & Cable. According to the article, this includes video news releases stations are paid to run, a practice referred to as "secured placement" or "marketing public relations." Moreover, "secured VNR buys are much more cost-effective than conventional ad buys." An average "secured" VNR costs $15,000 - $25,000 to produce and $10,000 - $50,000 for airtime, as opposed to the cost of an average 30-second TV commercial in 2003 of $372,000 to produce and $5 million - $20 million for airtime.

"Secured" VNRs also offer "built-in controls that unpaid PR tactics lack, including the ability to target specific demographics and to conduct a post-buy analysis of audience delivery." Jeff Wurtz, senior vice-president of sales and marketing at Medialink's competitor News Broadcast Network, said, "You can go on DirecTV and Dish Network and reach 400,000, 500,000, or 600,000 people in one buy. Or you can go on something like the Today show in the top 10 markets, which will reach 2.5 million to 3 million people. You may want to hit a certain demo or income level that watches Judge Judy or Judge Brown that is watching at mid morning."

The Broadcasting & Cable article continued, "Medialink's latest experiment is another spot that (CEO Larry) Moskowitz calls 'a bona fide newscast'; it's scheduled to debut soon on national cable networks. Unlike pseudo-newscasts produced in the past by Medialink and its competitors, a new three-minute 'newscast' features legitimate news." During the three-minute newscast-advertisement, "the company's logo will appear over the shoulder of the show's news anchor, and its brand will be clearly identified during the segment." Moskowitz said, "It's back to the future. It's just like the old John Cameron Swayze newscasts for Camel cigarettes," referring to NBC's "Camel News Caravan" that aired from 1949 to 1956.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC)

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