US television science news is sometimes public relations in disguise

[Guest guest]

BlankBMJ 2006;333:1089 (25 November), doi:10.1136/bmj.39041.373021.DB

US television science news is sometimes public relations in disguise

Janice Hopkins Tanne

New York

The science news broadcast by US television stations is sometimes not genuine

reporting by a science journalist who works for the television station or the

network. Instead it is prepared by a public relations firm for corporate or

government clients, says a report from the non-profit making Center for Media

and Democracy (CMD).

Video news releases are designed to look like news reports, but they present the

point of view of the sponsor.

This month's report is a follow-up to a document that the centre issued in

April, entitled Fake News (www.prwatch.org/fakenews/execsummary), which says

that US television stations often do not divulge the source of prepackaged video

information and broadcast it as news (BMJ 2006;332:919).