The Fake News Cycle
How does a video news release get from the drawing board to the six o'clock news? It takes a few good publicists and a few bad journalists. Here's the five-step process of a standard VNR:
- Conception
The client has a message they want to get out to the public. They hire media consultants to find the best way to turn their product, service or agenda into a newsworthy item.
- Creation
The client employs a VNR production company to shoot a fully-polished 1-2 minute "news" feature. Although the VNR typically comes with scripted narration, the "reporter" never appears on-screen.
- Delivery
The VNR is distributed to hundreds of newsrooms by satellite, hard copy, or network news feeds such as Pathfire, CNN Newsource and CBS NewsPath. Producers in top markets are often pitched individually by the publicists who created the VNR.
- Assimilation
At each TV station, a producer decides if the VNR is interesting, relevant, and "journalistic" enough to be included in their broadcast. If so, they'll typically customize the VNR by adding or removing soundbites, inserting station-branded text overlays, and replacing the narration with the familiar voice of their own reporter.
- Showtime
The VNR is seamlessly blended into the newscast without attributing the original source of the story. Countless viewers are duped into believing they're watching an investigative news report when in reality they're getting a subtle dose of corporate or government propaganda.
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