Knowing Who Butters Their Bread

The Federal Communications Commission's warning that broadcasters should disclose the origin of some video news releases (VNRs) has the fake news business in a lather. Kevin Foley, the president of KEF Media, told PR Week that "the government has no business sticking its nose into news or communications as we practice it here ... The FCC has no jurisdiction over news and news content." Richard Edelman, the president and CEO of the PR company Edelman, conceded that disclosing government VNRs "in some way" was reasonable. However, Edelman draws the line at labeling corporate VNRs, the bulk of those produced. "I do not believe in the need for government to put a black box on any VNR that's produced for a company," he said.