81
EKVpCethb
21E
441
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
THURSDAY, APRIL 14, 2005
NEWS
Regulators criticize fake news
MEDIA
BY ELIZABETH WOLFE
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Those rules "are grounded in the principle that listeners and viewers are entitled to know who seeks to persuade them" with TV programming, the Federal Communications Commission said in a public notice to broadcast licensees and cable operators.
WASHINGTON — Responding to criticism over government videos being packaged as TV news reports, federal regulators reminded broadcasters yesterday of rules requiring them to identify the source of such material.
Tens of thousands of people have asked the FCC to investigate the failure of broadcasters to disclose the source of the government videos, said Commissioner Michael Copps, adding that his agency should investigate each case.
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy was criticized last year for a series of videos in which a narrator, sometimes identified as "Karen Ryan," said she was "reporting" on the office's activities.
The FCC is soliciting comments on the decades-old sponsorship identification rules and may seek to clarify them further.
Separately, the Health and Human Services Department's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services produced video news releases, also narrated by "Karen Ryan," touting changes to Medicare.
The tapes were offered to local television stations for news programs. Some stations aired the videos without identifying their government origins.
Directly addressing such videos, the FCC said broadcast licensees and cable operators "generally must clearly disclose" to viewers the "nature, source and sponsorship of the material."
Violating the rules could result in a $10,000 fine, one year imprisonment or both.
"There been a growing trend of broadcasters just putting on these so-called video news releases wholesale, and putting them on the air without letting the public know it may be from a government agency or it may be from a big corporation," said FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein. "So the public thinks it looks like a news story, and they don't realize that in fact somebody that may have an agenda is trying to influence their thought."
Rocket woman
Photos by Kelly Hutsell ♦ KANSAN
Above: Kristin Colahan-Sederstrom, Wichita senior, climbs the inflatable rocket slide set up yesterday outside Stauffer-Flint Hall. The slide, which was about 20 feet tall, was part of a promotion put on by Student Union Activities to encourage students to vote 'yes' on an upcoming referendum that would add a $5 student fee to help fund SUA.
Right: Colahan-Sederstrom also used paint in a spray bottle to design a custom Frisbee as part of the promotion.
01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100