Media Warned About Faux News Advocacy Pieces

by Scott Ott
(2005-02-19) – Just a day after the U.S. comptroller general warned the White House against distributing simulated newscasts that promote administration policies without clearly stating the source, major U.S. media outlets including the New York Times, CNN and CBS News have received a similar advisory.

“Americans have a right to know whether there is an agenda or any bias behind the news reports they read, hear or view,” said a spokesman from the FCC. “Just as the White House shouldn’t try to accomplish its public relations goals with unattributed faux newscasts, so the editors at the Washington Post and MSNBC cannot hide their political agendas behind a patina of journalistic credibility.”

The new warning includes guidelines for flagging so called ‘agenda-driven’ news to make sources and motivation more transparent to news consumers.

Under the terms of the new protocol, the New York Times, Washington Post and L.A. Times, for example, may continue their traditional ‘news’ coverage, but all sections of the papers will now be labeled ‘Op-Ed.’

Televised news operations, like CNN or CBS, will be in compliance if newscasters simply wink at the camera at least once every 20 seconds during agenda-driven stories.

scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002073.html

You’ve been warned.

So, TC, did I get you hooked on scrappleface? Or did you fall into that irresistable pit on your own? lol :slight_smile:

Scrappleface is pretty cool. When I see a good one I feel compelled to share… :slight_smile:

[quote=“TainanCowboy”]by Scott Ott
(2005-02-19) – Just a day after the U.S. comptroller general warned the White House against distributing simulated newscasts that promote administration policies without clearly stating the source, major U.S. media outlets including the New York Times, CNN and CBS News have received a similar advisory.

“Americans have a right to know whether there is an agenda or any bias behind the news reports they read, hear or view,” said a spokesman from the FCC. “Just as the White House shouldn’t try to accomplish its public relations goals with unattributed faux newscasts, so the editors at the Washington Post and MSNBC cannot hide their political agendas behind a patina of journalistic credibility.”

The new warning includes guidelines for flagging so called ‘agenda-driven’ news to make sources and motivation more transparent to news consumers.

Under the terms of the new protocol, the New York Times, Washington Post and L.A. Times, for example, may continue their traditional ‘news’ coverage, but all sections of the papers will now be labeled ‘Op-Ed.’

Televised news operations, like CNN or CBS, will be in compliance if newscasters simply wink at the camera at least once every 20 seconds during agenda-driven stories.

scrappleface.com/MT/archives/002073.html

You’ve been warned.[/quote]

Thanks for posting this, I’ve been wanting to post something similar. Quite frankly, so much faux news is emanating from the Karl Rove propaganda department these days that I no longer trust anything said by the mainstream (Fox News, CNN, Reuters, etc) news outlets, even when they are telling the truth. That’s the problem when you start broadcasting propaganda instead of news. You lose your credibility, and eventually no one believes anything you say, even when you’re correct.

If the trend continues, the mainstream news in the USA will become as believable as the news in China or North Korea. And I find that scary.

cheers,
DB

[url=http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0%2C12271%2C1416370%2C00.html] A hireling, a fraud and a prostitute

Bush’s agent in the press corps has given spin a new level of meaning [/url]

I just hit on this link while surfing:

news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&c … &printer=1

Agencies Warned About Fake News Videos
Fri Feb 18,10:46 PM ET

WASHINGTON - Congressional investigators warned federal agencies this week that the promotion of government policies through video news releases meant to look like TV news stories may violate federal rules against propaganda.

In a letter sent Thursday to heads of government departments and agencies, the Government Accountability Office noted that “prepackaged news stories have become common tools of the public relations industry.”

The presentations “are intended to be indistinguishable from news segments broadcast to the public by independent television news organizations,” the letter said.

Comptroller General David M. Walker warned that such productions may violate a government prohibition, enacted in 1951, against the use of appropriated funds for propaganda.

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy was criticized last year for a series of video news releases in which a narrator, sometimes identified as “Karen Ryan” or “Mike Morris,” said she or he was “reporting” on the office’s activities. The tapes were sent to local television stations for use in news programs.

In a second case criticized by the GAO last year, the Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Department’s Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services produced video news releases touting changes to Medicare. Those productions were also narrated by “Karen Ryan” and were offered to local TV news operations.

In both cases, Walker wrote Thursday, “television-viewing audiences did not know that stories they watched on television news programs about the government were, in fact, prepared by the government. We concluded that those prepackaged news stories violated the publicity or propaganda prohibition.”

The GAO letter did say video news releases could be used without violating the law if it was clearly disclosed to the viewing audience that the material was prepared by the government.

==================================

Ahh, and here’s another gem:

rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=98

You guys are something else…lol.

You obviously have no idea what Scrappleface is all about.
Buy hey, use any opportunity you can to flog your agendas.
Do you have any idea how ridiculous it makes you look?
Post on lads, post on… :unamused:

US journalists lose freedom of press appeal

[color=blue]"Rumsfeld Declares Iraq’s Weapons Of Mass Destruction Finally Found – In North Korea!

“Our vindication is complete,” Rumsfeld declares. “We knew they were there all along. So much for the naysayers and surrender monkeys.”

North Korea To Receive $50,000,000 Iraq WMD Reward And Bush Administration Medal of Freedom!"[/color]

We’ve gotten so used to neocons and the Bush Administration sounding like drugged out refugees from a third-world banana republic that it’s honestly hard to tell when they’re deliberately spoofing.

Spook used ‘neocons’ in a post.

He owes the house a round of drinks. :beer:

I agree that a change in terminology is called for. Calling budget-busting advocates of endless military intervention ‘conservative’ anything makes about as much sense as claiming that “1 plus 1 equals three.”

I’ll even make it dealer’s choice and let you guys make the call. Here are some choices:

  1. Banana Republicans

  2. Neocommissars

  3. Islamophobes

  4. Neo-inquisitors

  5. World Po-leece

  6. Orwell’s Raiders

  7. Coalition of Conspiracy KookS