Kerry demands inquiry by FCC into prepackaged news

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/printthis.php?p=178

Sen. Kerry to demand inquiry by FCC into ‘prepackaged news’

The following letter, drafted by Senator John Kerry (D-MA), will go out this afternoon to Federal Communications Chairman Michael Powell, demanding an inquiry into the role of government agencies in ‘prepackaged’ news provided to news networks. ‘Fake news’ was the subject of an extensive article Sunday in the New York Times.

Sen. Kerry’s letter follows.

#
March 15, 2005

The Honorable Michael Powell Chairman Federal Communications Commission Room 8-B201 445 12th Street, S.W. Washington, D.C. 20554

Dear Chairman Powell:

I am disturbed by recent press reports, including a New York Times article published on March 13, 2005, stating that prepackaged news reports produced by the federal government are being broadcast on local television stations across the country without an acknowledgment of the government’s role in their production.

It appears that federal agencies, in an increasingly common practice, are producing and distributing hundreds of television news segments, many of which are subsequently broadcast on local television stations throughout the country. Very often, these segments are being broadcast without properly revealing that they were written and produced by the federal government.

Broadcast industry standards already discourage the broadcast of prepackaged news segments. The Government Accounting Office (GAO) has sought to forbid federal agencies from creating prepackaged news reports “that conceal or do not clearly identify for the television viewing audience that the agency was the source of those materials.” Each year since 1951, Congress has enacted a government-wide prohibition on the use of appropriated funds for the purposes of “publicity or propaganda.” Yet this practice continues to flourish, and to make matters worse, the source of the information is not shared with the public.

I strongly believe that the federal government should not be permitted to manipulate public opinion by providing news organizations with so-called “news reports” that have been created by public relations experts, which are then broadcast without proper disclosure. Every American is entitled to know the source of prepackaged information that is broadcast on TV and characterized as “news.” Taxpayers have a right to know if their tax dollars have been used to produce the news they’re watching. This is especially disconcerting in light of recent disclosures that federal agencies have compensated professional journalists for presenting and supporting Bush Administration policies.

I ask that you undertake an immediate, full and thorough investigation into this issue. I also ask that you determine if there has been a violation of the applicable statute or agency rules that govern a broadcaster’s obligation to disclose the source of materials that it broadcasts. In addition, please identify whether there are loopholes in your existing statutory authority that prevent you from effectively dealing with this issue and whether there are appropriate enforcement mechanisms in place to stop non-disclosure of news clips produced by the federal government.

Thank you for your immediate attention to this matter.

Sincerely,

John F. Kerry

He's outta control. I like that.

:bounce:

He's obviously working really, really hard, as we knew he would. I wish stuff like this would make those naysayers in GD just shut up, but it likely won't, as most of them are simply irrational. However, I, for one, am very proud of (and thankful for!) JK for continuing to fight for us.

The media is not doing their jobs. They are not shifting through raw data looking for actual news. They are not 'truth-squading' what they get. They are putting crap on the air (and in print) and as long as they have two opposing opinions, they are calling it news. They are abrogating their responsbility to sepak truth to power in order to speak profits to corporate owners. And it's wrong. And it is very, very bad for the country.

And there is a word for when the government is making up reports and having it air as an objective story; it's called propaganda. And it a really, wicked scary thing for the government of a so-called Democracy to be doing.

Sounds like he's fully aware of the legal, uh, "conflicts" that could and should derail that awful practice.

Pity that he has to deal with Michael "I want Murdoch to own the media" Powell. But again, it might turn out that he's afraid of something with legal teeth.

How does he do it? I'm so glad to see him fired up over so many issues, we need him so desperately to fight for us and he hasn't let us down yet. It's about time the MSM was called out as the right wing propoganda machine that they truly are. And I'm so proud that John is calling them on it.