Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'

[kpete]

Bush 'planted fake news stories on American TV'
By Andrew Buncombe in Washington
Published: 29 May 2006

Federal authorities are actively investigating dozens of American television stations for broadcasting items produced by the Bush administration and major corporations, and passing them off as normal news. Some of the fake news segments talked up success in the war in Iraq, or promoted the companies' products.

Investigators from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) are seeking information about stations across the country after a report produced by a campaign group detailed the extraordinary extent of the use of such items.

The report, by the non-profit group Centre for Media and Democracy, found that over a 10-month period at least 77 television stations were making use of the faux news broadcasts, known as Video News Releases (VNRs). Not one told viewers who had produced the items.

"We know we only had partial access to these VNRs and yet we found 77 stations using them," said Diana Farsetta, one of the group's researchers. "I would say it's pretty extraordinary. The picture we found was much worse than we expected going into the investigation in terms of just how widely these get played and how frequently these pre-packaged segments are put on the air."

more at:
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article621189.ece

[ForrestGump]

1. Who could tell?

American 'news' television has been crap for many years, and much of it patently biased toward the hardline Right for the past decade.

[MindMatter]

14. Exactly. The only difference now ...

... is that they have established a price schedule to shill for their masters.

[ForrestGump]

26. Ten shillings per shill?

Or maybe 30 pieces of silver...

[rosesaylavee]

25. I like your sig pic

Anyway we could draft Wilson for Pres? I think he would do a heckova job. :)

[ForrestGump]

27. Thanks! I like yours (answer is "yes," by the way), too! Yes, Wilson is a

far better choice than the airhead currently defiling the Oval Office.... :D

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. WHY THE HELL is the UK reporting on this, and not our MSM?

Pardon me for yelling. But, this is crazy.
I can understand that the emperor doesn't like the kid who pointed out his wardrobe flaw, but unlike Janice jackson's, this one can be fixed - especially by investigative journalism, mea culpas and other cleansing actions.

[sutz12]

3. I assume that is a rhetorical question, no? nt

[depakid]

10. What would you expect?

Integrity?

Forget about it- these folks have been profiting from lying and covering for the far right and their sponsors for so long that outside of divesment and re-regulation, there's not even hope that things will change.

[Berry Cool]

16. This is not completely news. We've known about this since 2004.

Try Googling "vnr bush administration." You'll see many references to VNRs that promoted the Medicare drug benefit, Leave No Child Behind Act tutoring programs, and so on. Rest assured, the US media have been on this story for some time. The existence of White House VNRs, and the fact that local TV stations have been running them as if they were "news," has been known for some time. This is just another story about the issue, and it happens to be from overseas.

[dipsydoodle]

17. Broadly speaking

it's because UK news channels can be trusted. I don't trust your news channels one iota. This is one of the reasons I'm on DU - you guys can smell a rat before I do.

[laundry_queen]

33. Because they aren't going to implicate themselves.

They're the ones showing the program, why would they report that they are idiots and shills?? Not gonna happen.

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

35. Old news, already reported on in US media:

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/politics/15VIDE.html?ei=5007&en=03106322a35655a1&ex=1394686800&adxnnl=1&partner=USERLAND&adxnnlx=1148915391-8LChv18jDh3NhoJTdOgfEw

http://www2.jsonline.com/enter/tvradio/mar04/215698.asp

[jdeetz1019]

4. Correct me if I'm wrong

But wasn't this one of Goebbels specialties. Ginning up propaganda disguised as news and then distributing it to the masses?

[Lefty48197]

8. The Republicans have "learned from the best" haven't they?

.

[jdeetz1019]

11. Apparently Rove's lineage holds more than just

his DNA

[CoffeeCat]

13. Yes, that's what Goebbels did...

...and it appears that we have a willing media--who has no problem with deceiving the American public.

What our media is doing--is worse than what the Goebbels of the world do. Every administration wants the media to report favorably about their policies. However, the media's job is to report the facts and to give both sides of a story.

It appears the our media is being used as a PR arm for this administration--and for the war.

So many people are outraged by Judy Miller's run-up pieces that led us to war. If the media used canned VNRs to position the Iraq war in a positive light--then we've got dozens of "Judy Millers" willing to pump propaganda down our gullets--and lie to us, as they pass it off as "news" or "journalism."

This sickens me.

[KittyWampus]

40. Actually, News Media aren't supposed to give "both sides of the story"

as much as they are supposed to give an objective account of a story.

The only reason I make that distinction is because this "both sides" crap ends up giving equal weight and time to even the most egregious lies and misinformation.

If someone says "the world is flat" it's absurd to give their side of the story any mention except in passing and in terms that define it as false.

[proud2BlibKansan]

36. I believe you are correct

Just imagine if Goebbels had had TV to work with. :scared:

Welcome to DU :hi:

[babylonsister]

5. Recommend. We know this is going on in Iraq, but here?

Not surprised our media whores aren't covering it; they're a big part of the disinformation being spewed.

[Lefty48197]

6. Recommended because this is such an important topic

"...propaganda masquerading as news..." - That phrase sums it all up. The propoganda and outright lies are the backbone of the Bush administration and they are the very essence of Republican politics today. It's no wonder this is being reported by a British news organization, and not an American one. The American "news media" has been too busy reading their "press releases" from the White House and from FOX "News".

[CoffeeCat]

7. "making use of...VNRs" is not in itself, a bad thing...

It is standard procedure for organizations to send VNRs to media members--to entice them into covering stories. If you're a PR person working for a company or a large PR firm--it's not a big deal to send out a VNR.

I'm unclear from the article, how media members used the VNRs. Did they air them in their entirety? If so, that's heinous. It's lazy journalism at best.

If they were airing canned VNRs from the government--then the media is worse than biased toward this administration. We've got a media that is prostituting government propaganda, and passing it off as "news." So, not only is the story fake--the media's portrayal of that story is a lie.

If this is true, every offending media outlet needs to be exposed and humiliated.

[depakid]

12. It's worse than that

apparently- they're not only airing them- they've editing out the corporate disclosures and passing them off as their own!

[LizW]

18. They are passing them off as their own segments

They edit out any parts that disclose that the segment was produced by a corporation or the government. This was reported some time ago. Of course, the US press ignored it, except to offer up the lame excuse that cost cutting measures make local news outlets vulnerable to this kind of thing. Supposedly, they don't have the money to produce enough "news" themselves, so they use canned stuff produced by whoever.

We need a list of the specific stations that did this, and a description of the segments they aired.

[no_hypocrisy]

9. Figures. It follows the Administration using Armstrong Williams to report

on the "success" of No Child Left Behind as if it were fact and a news release prepared by objective investigative journalists.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

15. Crap.... just when I was buying into it all..... now this...... n/t

[Berry Cool]

20. Before you go blaming the US MSM for not knowing about all this

and not doing their jobs, do some research.

They have. They've been following the story for years.

Just by doing a simple Google search, I found a Columbia Journalism Review story dated Oct. 13, 2004; a Wikipedia entry under "Video news release"; and a Truthout article quoting NYT and WaPo editorials from March 2005.

Just because you weren't aware of something happening doesn't mean the MSM weren't covering it. Maybe you just missed the story.

[CoffeeCat]

19. Figures. The pharmas are involved...

The article mentions that Pfizer is one of the companies that had their VNR aired on the news.

That's pretty sick. Public health is at stake here.

Why do the big pharmas get such special treatment? Congress and the pResident seem beholden to them. Now, the media is allowing them to spew propaganda--as news--to the American people.

These companies are the devil.

[NNN0LHI]

21. How many Zarqawi number twos has Bush caught?

Bush quotes Zarqawi every chance he gets.

Don

[ChairmanAgnostic]

22. 23,487, not counting today's totals.

that's a lot of #2s.

[Catch22Dem]

23. Goebbels would be so proud (n/t)

[babylonsister]

24. Sent to KO and Cafferty, imploring them to cover this.

One can hope.

[Berry Cool]

38. KO has already covered it. Long ago.

Just look at this transcript from his show of Jan. 7, 2005, in which he interviewed Greg Toppo of USA Today, who broke the Armstrong Williams story:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6808721/

OLBERMANN: Of course, a few months back, we had the Karen Ryan case, the former reporter creating what looked like TV news reports that were actually government, essentially, video press releases. And the GAO looked at them and said, illegal.

In other words, these babies have been around a loooong time. Thing is, no one seems to have taken any action to put a stop to them.

We can't blame the MSM. They did their jobs in reporting that this was happening. It's those responsible for putting a stop to these kinds of shenanigans who have not done THEIR jobs. We can only hope the FCC does better. Seems to me like ending this stuff is a whole lot more important than whether or not I see more of Janet Jackson than I wanted to.

[bridgit]

28. OMG NOT BUSH!!!

[Arkansas Granny]

29. It's just another way to insure that dissenting voices aren't heard.

I guess we can assume that these planted stories are pretty one-sided.

:eyes:

[SHRED]

30. WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?

Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do if we let you go home,
And the plastic's all melted,
And so is the chrome?
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?

Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do when the label comes off,
And the plastic's all melted,
And the chrome is too soft?

Aaahhh!

Think I'm very tired and I'm going to die
I think I'm going to die, I think I'm going to die
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?

Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do if the people you knew
Were the plastic that melted,
And the chromium too?
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?

-Frank Zappa (RIP)

[WhoWantsToBeOccupied]

31. "Propaganda" vs "news": You liberal Wordonistas with your lingusitic

hair-splitting.

How do you expect capitalism to work without government-sponsored propaganda... I mean, news?

That's the FREE market.

What part of "free" don't you get?

If ExxonMobil exercises its right to free speech by buying itself a government, wouldn't it be hypocritical of that government not to ignore and suppress evidence of global warming?

Greenpeace could have bought itself our government, but it didn't. So quit your whining.

[Marr]

32. I believe this first came out a couple of years ago. Like so many other

laws, the Bush Admin. simply ignored it- even after being explicitly told that it's illegal. We'll see if there are any ramifications, but I doubt there will be. Bush has been allowed to violate the law without repercussion too many times, and law simply doesn't matter anymore.

[joeunderdog]

34. The FCC is investigating? Isn't Michael Powell Bush's Bitch?

The FCC is the BushCo promotions department. They deregulated media consolodation in the face of enormous, bipartisn opposition as part of the run-up to the war. All part of the plan. What a shocker, they stood by as fabricated (not just editorialized) news is widely distributed.

And now we're supposed to believe they are gonna send BushCabalies to bed without a second scoop of ice cream? Yeah, right.

[lonestarnot]

37. Investigating egh?

:rofl:

[sofa king]

39. As usual, this is only the tip of the iceberg.

This latest "planting fake news stories" story has been brought to you by the Bush Administration, which also brought you:

GAO-05-643T Video News Releases: Unattributed Prepackaged News Stories Violate Publicity or Propaganda Prohibition

Medicare Prescription Drug, Improvement, and Modernization Act of 2003-Use of appropriated funds for flyer and print and television advertisements, B-302504, March 10, 2004

Department of Education—No Child Left Behind Newspaper Artcle

B-304829, James D. Guckert--Reprinting Government Press Releases as His Own Work, June 6, 2005

B-304272, PREPACKAGED NEWS STORIES, February 17, 2005 "During the past year, we found that several prepackaged news stories produced and distributed by certain government agencies violated this prohibition. <1> In the course of our work, we learned that prepackaged news stories have become common tools of the public relations industry, and that some federal agencies are adopting them as well. The purpose of this letter is to remind agencies of the constraints imposed by the publicity or propaganda prohibition on the use of prepackaged news stories and to advise vigilance to assure that agencies' activities comply with the prohibition. Importantly, prepackaged news stories can be utilized without violating the law, so long as there is clear disclosure to the television viewing audience that this material was prepared by or in cooperation with the government department or agency."

[earth mom]

41. I've been calling them Corporate Media Whores or Hos for awhile now

Their modus operandi is so damn obvious! Don't even get me started on their 9/11 coverage! :grr: And look how they didn't report anything about the stolen election of '04 or much of anything about Gannon-one of their own mind you. Or how they clammed up after a few days of truthful Katrina coverage, and how they've pushed the Bird Flu b.s. ad nauseam so the pharma giants can sell their vaccine...etc., etc., etc,...blah, blah, blah. :grr:

Doubt we'll ever hear THIS STORY on T.V.! :eyes:

[Quantess]

42. I don't believe it!

The B*sh Administration hasn't been completely honest? No way! :sarcasm:

[Supersedeas]

43. propoganda at 10

[WiseButAngrySara]

44. More depressing 'news' about the 'news'! However, kpete, your news

delivery here at DU, is nonobjectionable and quite commendable!

:yourock:!

KNR

[cassiepriam]

45. For years now, the only source of info is the foreign press.

We have a news black out here in the US.

[autorank]

46. Now they've ruined the "fake news" business. Where will they stop.

I love Jon Steward and Colbert...they are my main source of news;), not really but they offer the most sensible anlaysis...it's a joke.

Now * reaches out from the darkness and pulls "fake news," a source of relief, into their vortex of evil.

What next, Halliburton to acquire "The Onion."

When will it end?