Press Release
Investigators Respond to Attack on 'Fake TV News' Report
Contact: Timothy Karr, 201-533-8838
MADISON, WIS. – The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) today rebutted claims made about its April 2006 report, Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed – which sparked an ongoing investigation by the Federal Communications Commission into the misuse of video news releases, or VNRs, by local television stations.
The report documented 77 television stations airing VNRs or other pre-packaged segments produced by public relations firms for their clients without once disclosing their sponsors. The FCC launched an official investigation in August.
Last week, the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), through its attorneys at the firm Wiley Rein & Fielding, urged the FCC to drop its investigation. RTNDA alleged that the investigation has had "a chilling effect" on TV newsrooms. RTNDA also issued a critique of CMD's report that misrepresented and distorted the substance of the report. CMD's full, point-by-point rebuttal of the RTNDA critique is available online at www.prwatch.org/node/5282.
"It's unfortunate that an organization representing news directors is attacking accurate, independent reporting," stated CMD senior researcher Diane Farsetta, who co-authored the Fake TV News report. "We do not find RTNDA's claims to have any merit. Furthermore, it should be noted that the issue is VNR disclosure. TV stations willing to disclose where the video in their newscast comes from should feel no chill at all. As the FCC stated in its April 2005 Public Notice on VNRs, news audiences have the right to know 'who seeks to influence them.'"
"The RTNDA's latest appeal is a spurious attempt to smother an investigation and undermine the public interest," said Timothy Karr, campaign director of the media reform group Free Press. "The CMD report reveals beyond any doubt that at least 77 stations have violated the letter and the spirit of their broadcast licenses. It's now incumbent upon the FCC to fully investigate all stations that air undisclosed fake news."
In conjunction with the release of CMD's report, Free Press launched an activist campaign against fake news. More than 30,000 Americans have written the FCC to support an investigation and penalties for TV stations that broadcast VNRs without full disclosure.
"It was embarrassingly easy to debunk each and every one of RTNDA's critiques," added CMD research consultant Daniel Price, who co-authored the Fake TV News report. "No matter how they spin it, every VNR broadcast that we documented is a blatant violation not only of FCC regulations, but also RTNDA's own code of ethics, which urges stations to 'clearly disclose the origin of information and label all material provided by corporate or other non-editorial sources.'"
The report documented 77 television stations airing VNRs or other pre-packaged segments produced by public relations firms for their clients without once disclosing their sponsors. The FCC launched an official investigation in August.
Last week, the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), through its attorneys at the firm Wiley Rein & Fielding, urged the FCC to drop its investigation. RTNDA alleged that the investigation has had "a chilling effect" on TV newsrooms. RTNDA also issued a critique of CMD's report that misrepresented and distorted the substance of the report. CMD's full, point-by-point rebuttal of the RTNDA critique is available online at www.prwatch.org/node/5282.
"It's unfortunate that an organization representing news directors is attacking accurate, independent reporting," stated CMD senior researcher Diane Farsetta, who co-authored the Fake TV News report. "We do not find RTNDA's claims to have any merit. Furthermore, it should be noted that the issue is VNR disclosure. TV stations willing to disclose where the video in their newscast comes from should feel no chill at all. As the FCC stated in its April 2005 Public Notice on VNRs, news audiences have the right to know 'who seeks to influence them.'"
"The RTNDA's latest appeal is a spurious attempt to smother an investigation and undermine the public interest," said Timothy Karr, campaign director of the media reform group Free Press. "The CMD report reveals beyond any doubt that at least 77 stations have violated the letter and the spirit of their broadcast licenses. It's now incumbent upon the FCC to fully investigate all stations that air undisclosed fake news."
In conjunction with the release of CMD's report, Free Press launched an activist campaign against fake news. More than 30,000 Americans have written the FCC to support an investigation and penalties for TV stations that broadcast VNRs without full disclosure.
"It was embarrassingly easy to debunk each and every one of RTNDA's critiques," added CMD research consultant Daniel Price, who co-authored the Fake TV News report. "No matter how they spin it, every VNR broadcast that we documented is a blatant violation not only of FCC regulations, but also RTNDA's own code of ethics, which urges stations to 'clearly disclose the origin of information and label all material provided by corporate or other non-editorial sources.'"
