Fake TV News

Be "Proactive" on Fake News, Broadcasters Told

by Diane Farsetta — November 19, 2007 - 1:36pm

A public relations trade publication has editorialized in favor of video news release (VNR) disclosure ... sort of. "The Federal Communications Commission is correctly serving the US citizens' right to know where footage originates," writes PR Week.

Main Source: 
PR Week, November 12, 2007

Hillary Clinton Follows in FEMA's Fake Footsteps

by Diane Farsetta — November 14, 2007 - 3:16pm

After a November 6 speech at a biodiesel plant in Iowa, Senator Hillary Clinton took questions. But "some of the questions from the audience were planned in advance," reports Patrick Caldwell. Grinnell College student Muriel Gallo-Chasanoff said that "one of the senior [Clinton campaign] staffers told me what" to ask.

Main Source: 
Scarlet and Black (Grinnell College newspaper, Grinnell, Iowa), November 9, 2007

The How (But Not the Why) of FEMA's Fake News Conference

by Diane Farsetta — November 9, 2007 - 12:28pm

The Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) internal investigation into last month's fake news conference found that FEMA press secretary Aaron Walker "directed aides to pose as reporters, secretly coached them during the briefing and ended the event after a final, scripted question was asked," reports Spencer Hsu.

Main Source: 
Washington Post, November 9, 2007

Another FEMA Faker Resigns

by Diane Farsetta — November 8, 2007 - 3:09pm

The California wildfire press conference staged last month by Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) staffers, who asked questions of their boss as though they were reporters, has claimed a second job.

Main Source: 
Editor & Publisher, November 7, 2007

Broadcasters' Coalition of the Shilling Objects to Fake News Fines

by Diane Farsetta — November 1, 2007 - 4:56pm
  • Topics: Video News Releases, Corporations, Fake TV News, Lobbying, Media, U.S. Government

    • Do you remember when the Surgeon General's warning appeared on cigarette packs, and everyone stopped smoking? Or when nutritional information was added to food packaging, and everyone stopped eating sugary snacks? Neither do I.

    Yet lawyers and lobbyists for the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA) insist that mounting pressure to disclose fake news "already has begun to drastically chill speech in newsrooms across the country, inhibiting broadcasters and cablecasters from fully serving their viewers."

    That claim is made in RTNDA's new filing (PDF) with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). The broadcasters' group is urging the FCC to stop considering fines for undisclosed video news releases (VNRs). The FCC has proposed fines totaling $20,000 against Comcast, for its cable channel CN8 having aired five VNRs — public relations videos designed to look like news reports — without disclosure.

    The FCC fines are an important first step in ensuring news viewers' right to know. But rather than roll up its metaphoric sleeves and address the impact of VNRs on television news, RTNDA is lobbying against any FCC action.

    Stupidity Spreading Like Wildfire

    by Diane Farsetta — October 31, 2007 - 3:27pm

    The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) fake news conference -- where FEMA staffers played reporter, asking FEMA's deputy administrator softball questions -- has cost one person his job.

    Main Source: 
    New York Times, October 30, 2007

    California TV Station Caught Pimping Myride.com

    by Diane Farsetta — October 29, 2007 - 10:27am

    Sacramento television station KCRA recently aired a "Problem Solvers" news segment where "Lynsey Paulo, a multiple regional-Emmy winner, looked at 'search engine fatigue' among online users. The report quoted three consumers, an expert from UCLA and an executive from Myride.com, which provides targeted-search results.

    Main Source: 
    Sacramento Bee (California), October 27, 2007

    FEMA Gives "Self Reporting" New Meaning

    by Diane Farsetta — October 26, 2007 - 1:49pm

    "As the California wildfires raged," the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA's) deputy administrator, Harvey Johnson, gave a news briefing, which was carried on Fox News, MSNBC and other outlets.

    Main Source: 
    Washington Post, October 26, 2007

    Lights, Camera, PhRMA

    by Sheldon Rampton — October 23, 2007 - 11:10pm

    Buffeted by bad press from recalls of dangerous drugs and public bitterness over high drug prices, the drug industry has decided to cure its ailing image by sponsoring its own TV talk show, hosted by Billy Tauzin, the former GOP congressman who now heads the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).

    Main Source: 
    The Hill, October 23, 2007

    Time To Pay for Payola Pundit Armstrong Williams

    by Diane Farsetta — October 19, 2007 - 6:40pm
  • Topics: Pundits, Video News Releases, Fake TV News, Media, Propaganda, Public Relations, U.S. Government

    • Perhaps, in the case of Armstrong Williams, the third time will be the charm.

    The first two official investigations failed to hold anyone accountable for what can only be described as a textbook case of government propaganda. The results of the third investigation, by the Federal Communications Commission, were announced recently (PDF file). The FCC found Williams and two media companies to be at fault, issuing a citation against Williams and proposing fines of $40,000 against Sonshine Family Television and $36,000 against Sinclair Broadcast Group.

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