Multimedia report on TV newsrooms' use of material provided by PR firms

[Guest guest]

Hi All,

This may seem off subject to some of you, but this is what I have been

screaming about over the mold issue. Much of what keeps the information and

the MEDICAL science intentionally at a standstill are well placed media

promotions misrepresented as legitimate scientific news.

Have you all seen how widely promoted the study from England that

indicates illnesses from Sickbuildings are merely psychological problems

stemming

from job stress? Problem is, no buildings that were sick were actually

included in the study.

The term for this type of study is " Cigarette Science " . That term has

been coined because it means, just like the cigarette manufacturers have done,

find any other source that could be the causation for illness in order to

try and limit financial liability for the one who is tied to the actual cause

of illness. And yes, we do have some old pros involved in the

mold issue.

Here is how it works: Take a study reported to make findings of

that did not include and deduce that illness is

caused

from stress. This is like studying non-smoker who developed cancer, and

conclude that cigarettes do not cause cancer - even though cigarettes (or

) were not even a premise in the study. Hence the term " Cigarette

Science " . It is used frequently in environmental issues. This particular

study

from England was featured on Rueters, the Boston Globe, MSNBC and other media

outlets.

Read below of how financially motivated propaganda makes its way from

industry into the livingrooms of America. And in the case of the mold issue,

also into the doctors' offices (keep the doctors dumb, and people can't prove

their illness in court) and the courtrooms (keep the juries dumb and they

won't reward large judgements).

Sharon

_Center for Media and Democracy_ ()

Publishers of PR Watch (http://www.prwatch.org/botwatch/)

Fake TV News: Widespread and Undisclosed

A multimedia report on television newsrooms' use of material provided by PR

firms on behalf of paying clients

Diane Farsetta and Price, Center for Media and Democracy

April 6, 2006

This report includes:

* _Video footage_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/findings/vnrs) of

the 36 video news releases documented in this report, plus footage showing how

actual TV newscasts incorporated them and/or a related satellite media

tours.

* _A map_ (http://www.prwatch.org/map/TV_Stations) showing the

locations of the 77 television stations throughout the United States that aired

this

fake news.

* _A spreadsheet_ (http://www.prwatch.org/pdfs/FakeNewsStnsByState.pdf)

listing the 77 television stations that aired this fake news, by state.

In Brief

Over a ten-month period, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) documented

television newsrooms' use of 36 _video news releases_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=video_news_releases) (VNRs)—a

small sample of the

thousands produced each year. CMD identified 77 television stations, from those

in

the largest to the smallest markets, that aired these VNRs or related

_satellite media tours_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Satellite_Media_Tours) (SMTs) in 98

separate instances, without disclosure to viewers.

Collectively, these 77 stations reach more than half of the U.S. population.

The

VNRs and SMTs whose broadcast CMD documented were produced by three broadcast

PR firms for 49 different clients, including General Motors, Intel, Pfizer

and Capital One. In each case, these 77 television stations actively disguised

the sponsored content to make it appear to be their own reporting. In almost

all cases, stations failed to balance the clients' messages with

independently-gathered footage or basic journalistic research. More than

one-third of the

time, stations aired the pre-packaged VNR in its entirety.

Report highlights include:

_KOKH-25_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=KOKH-25,_FOX_(TV_Station)) airs _a

VNR_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr13) from _Intel_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Intel)

* _KOKH-25_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=KOKH-25,_FOX_(TV_Station)) in

Oklahoma City, OK, a _FOX_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Fox_News) station owned by

_Sinclair_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Sinclair_Broadcast_Group) , aired

six of the VNRs tracked by

CMD, making it this report's top repeat offender. Consistently, KOKH-25 failed

to provide any disclosure to news audiences. The station also aired five of

the six VNRs in their entirety, and kept the publicist's original narration

each time.

* In three instances, TV stations not only aired entire VNRs without

disclosure, but had local anchors and reporters read directly from the script

prepared by the broadcast PR firm. _KTVI-2_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=KTVI-2,_FOX_(TV_Station)) in St.

Louis, MO, had their anchor

introduce, and their reporter re-voice, _a VNR_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr3) produced for Masterfoods and 1-800

Flowers, following the script nearly

verbatim. _WBFS-33_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WBFS-33,_UPN_(TV_Station)) in

Miami, FL, did the same with _a VNR_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr36) produced for the " professional services

firm " Towers

Perrin. And _Ohio News Network_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Ohio_News_Network_(TV_Station)) did

likewise with _a VNR_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr23) produced for Siemens.

* _WSJV-28_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WSJV-28,_FOX_(TV_Station)) in South

Bend, IN, introduced _a VNR_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr35) produced for General Motors as being

from " FOX's

Schmertz, " implying that Schmertz was a reporter for the local station or the

FOX

network. In reality, he is _a publicist_

(http://www.google.com/search?q=andrew+schmertz+site:medialink.com) at the

largest U.S. broadcast PR firm,

_Medialink Worldwide_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Medialink_Worldwide) . Another

Medialink _publicist_

(http://www.google.com/search?hl=en & lr= & q=kate+brookes+site:medialink.com & btnG=S\

earch) , Kate s, was presented as

an on-air reporter by four TV stations airing _a VNR_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr16) produced for Siemens.

* Two stations whose previous use of government VNRs was documented by

the New York Times, _WCIA-3_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WCIA-3,_CBS_(TV_Station)) in

Champaign, IL, and _WHBQ-13_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WHBQ-13,_FOX_(TV_Station)) in

Memphis, TN, also _aired_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr16) _VNRs_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr1) tracked by CMD. The March 2005 Times

article reported that WHBQ's

vice president for news " could not explain how his station came to broadcast "

a State Department VNR, while WCIA's news director said that Agriculture

Department VNRs " meet our journalistic standards. "

Summary

Although the number of media formats and outlets has exploded in recent

years, television remains the dominant news source in the United States. More

than three-quarters of U.S. adults rely on local TV news, and more than 70

percent turn to network TV or cable news on a daily or near-daily basis,

according

to a January 2006 _ Poll_

(http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=644) . The quality

and integrity of television reporting thus

significantly impacts the public's ability to evaluate everything from

consumer products to medical services to government policies.

To reach this audience—and to add a veneer of credibility to clients'

messages—the public relations industry uses video news releases (VNRs). VNRs

are

pre-packaged " news " segments and additional footage created by broadcast PR

firms, or by publicists within corporations or government agencies. VNRs are

designed to be seamlessly integrated into newscasts, and are freely provided to

TV stations. Although the accompanying information sent to TV stations

identifies the clients behind the VNRs, nothing in the material for broadcast

does.

Without strong disclosure requirements and the attention and action of TV

station personnel, viewers cannot know when the news segment they're watching

was bought and paid for by the very subjects of that " report. "

From an ad for the broadcast PR firm _D S Simon Productions_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=D_S_Simon_Productions)

In recent years, the U.S. Congress, the Federal Communications Commission,

journalism professors, reporters and members of the general public have

expressed concern about VNRs. In response, public relations executives and

broadcaster groups have vigorously defended the status quo, claiming there is no

problem with current practices. In June 2005, the president of the

_Radio-Television News Directors Association_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Radio-Television_News_Directors_Asso\

ciation) (RTNDA), _Barbara Cochran_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Barbara_Cochran) , told a reporter

that

VNRs were " kind of like the _Loch Ness Monster_

(http://washingtontimes.com/business/20050628-094856-8762r.htm) . Everyone talks

about it, but not many

people have actually seen it. "

To inform this debate, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) conducted a

ten-month study of selected VNRs and their use by television stations,

tracking 36 VNRs issued by three broadcast PR firms. Key findings include:

* VNR use is widespread. CMD found 69 TV stations that aired at least

one VNR from June 2005 to March 2006—a significant number, given that CMD was

only able to track a small percentage of the VNRs streaming into newsrooms

during that time. Collectively, these 69 stations broadcast to 52.7 percent of

the U.S. population, according to _Nielsen Media_

(http://www.nielsenmedia.com/DMAs.html) figures. _Syndicated_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr4)

and _network-distributed_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr1) segments

sometimes included VNRs, further broadening their reach.

* VNRs are aired in TV markets of all sizes. TV stations often use

VNRs to limit the costs associated with producing, filming and editing their

own

reports. However, VNR usage is not limited to small-town stations with

shoestring budgets. Nearly two-thirds of the VNRs that CMD tracked were aired

by

stations in a Top 50 Nielsen market area, such as Detroit, Pittsburgh or

Cincinnati. Thirteen VNRs were broadcast in the ten largest markets, including

New

York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia and Boston.

* TV stations don't disclose VNRs to viewers. Of the 87 VNR broadcasts

that CMD documented, not once did the TV station disclose the client(s)

behind the VNR to the news audience. Only one station, _WHSV-3_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WHSV-3,_ABC_(TV_Station)) in

onburg, VA,

provided _partial disclosure_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr28) ,

identifying the broadcast PR firm that created the VNR, but not the client,

Daimler

Chrysler. WHSV-3 aired soundbites from a Chrysler representative and directed

viewers to websites associated with Chrysler, without disclosing the company's

role in the " report. "

* TV stations disguise VNRs as their own reporting. In every VNR

broadcast that CMD documented, the TV station altered the VNR's appearance.

Newsrooms added station-branded graphics and overlays, to make VNRs

indistinguishable from reports that genuinely originated from their station. A

station

reporter or anchor re-voiced the VNR in more than 60 percent of the VNR

broadcasts, sometimes repeating the publicist's original narration _word_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr3) -_for_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr23)

-_word_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr36) .

* TV stations don't supplement VNR footage or verify VNR claims. While

TV stations often edit VNRs for length, in only seven of the 87 VNR

broadcasts documented by CMD did stations add any independently-gathered

footage or

information to the segment. In all other cases, the entire aired " report " was

derived from a VNR and its accompanying script. In 31 of the 87 VNR

broadcasts, the entire aired " report " was the entire pre-packaged VNR. Three

stations

(_WCPO-9_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WCPO-9,_ABC_(TV_Station)) in

Cincinnati, OH; _WSYR-9_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WSYR-9,_ABC_(TV_Station)) in

Syracuse, NY; and _WYTV-33_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WYTV-33,_ABC_(TV_Station)) in

Youngstown, OH) _removed

safety warnings_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr10) from a VNR touting a

newly-approved prescription skin cream. WSYR-9 also aired _a VNR heralding_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr7) a " major health breakthrough " for

arthritis sufferers—a supplement that a widely-reported government study had

found to be little better than a placebo.

* The vast majority of VNRs are produced for corporate clients. Of the

hundreds of VNRs that CMD reviewed for potential tracking, only a few came

from government agencies or non-profit organizations. Corporations have

consistently been the dominant purveyors of VNRs, though the increased scrutiny

of

government-funded VNRs in recent years may have decreased their use by TV

newsrooms. Of the VNRs that CMD tracked, 47 of the 49 clients behind them were

_corporations_ (http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/findings/corporations) that

stood to benefit financially from the favorable " news " coverage.

* Satellite media tours may accompany VNRs. Broadcast PR firms

sometimes produce both VNRs and satellite media tours (SMTs) for clients. SMTs

are

actual interviews with TV stations, but their focus and scope are determined

by the clients. In effect, SMTs are live recitations of VNR scripts. CMD

identified 10 different TV stations that aired SMTs for 17 different clients

with

related VNRs. In only one instance was there _partial disclosure_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/vnr14) to viewers. An anchor at _WLTX-19_

(http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=WLTX-19,_CBS_(TV_Station)) in

Columbia, SC,

said after the segment, " This interview ... was provided by vendors at the

consumer trade show, " but did not name the four corporate clients behind the

SMT.

In sum, television newscasts—the most popular news source in the United

States—frequently air VNRs without disclosure to viewers, without conducting

their own reporting, and even without fact checking the claims made in the VNRs.

VNRs are overwhelmingly produced for _corporations_

(http://www.prwatch.org/fakenews/findings/corporations) , as part of larger

public relations campaigns

to sell products, burnish their image, or promote policies or actions

beneficial to the corporation.