Fake TV News

The Pentagon launched its covert media analyst program in 2002, to sell the Iraq war. Later, it was used to sell an image of progress in Afghanistan, whitewash the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, and defend the Bush administration's warrantless wiretapping, as David Barstow reported in his New York Times expose.

But the pundits weren't just selling government talking points. As Robert Bevelacqua, William Cowan and Carlton Sherwood enjoyed high-level Pentagon access through the analyst program, their WVC3 Group sought "contracts worth tens of millions to supply body armor and counterintelligence services in Iraq," reported Barstow. Cowan admitted to "push[ing] hard" on a WVC3 contract, during a Pentagon-funded trip to Iraq.

Then there's Pentagon pundit Robert H. Scales Jr. The military firm he co-founded in 2003, Colgen, has an interesting range of clients, from the Central Intelligence Agency and U.S. Special Operations Command, to Pfizer and Syracuse University, to Fox News and National Public Radio.

Of the 27 Pentagon pundits named publicly to date, six are registered as federal lobbyists. That's in addition to the less formal -- and less transparent -- boardroom to war-room influence peddling described above. (There are "more than 75 retired officers" who took part in the Pentagon program overall, according to Barstow.)

The Pentagon pundits' lobbying disclosure forms help chart what can only be called a military-industrial-media complex. They also make clear that war is very good for at least some kinds of business.

Reed Pence of MediaTracks Communications wants his fellow public relations professionals to know there's nothing wrong with "guaranteed placement" -- paying to have radio or television stations air fake news. "Many PR pros face the challenge of acquiring coverage for a product that isn't newsworthy," he writes in a letter to PR Week. "Some believe that [guaranteed placement] is just advertising," but it's not, he claims. "For example, when presented as part of a nationally syndicated radio news program, an audio news release might only have news content surrounding it. Selecting this vehicle eliminates the 'situated among advertisements' concern that listeners might tune the message out." Though Pence suggests using guaranteed placement for "stories with less news value," he also claims that stations air the guaranteed spots "not because they are paid to do so, but because the programs provide a service to listeners."

The giant of the fake news business, Medialink Worldwide, has fallen out of favor with investors. In the last year the company's share price has plummeted from $5.81 to its current level around the $1.70 mark. In its latest annual report, the company glumly states that sales in 2007 in the U.S. from its "media communications services" -- which includes the production of video news releases (VNRs) and audio news releases (ANRs) -- dropped by 4.8% compared to 2006. The only upside was that revenue from fake news grew by 28% from its United Kingdom office. Despite this, the company recorded a net loss of just over $4.6 million on revenues of $33.4 million. Medialink notes that while Federal Communications Commission action enforcing on-air disclosure of the sponsors of VNRs and ANRs would not preclude their use, it "could have the effect of reducing the number of broadcasters that air our clients' material." The FCC acted in response to CMD's Stop Fake News campaign.

"The 25 most media-prominent think tanks were cited 17 percent less in 2007 than they were the year before," according to an annual survey by Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). "The overall ideological breakdown was the same ... 47 percent of citations went to centrist think tanks, 37 percent to conservative or right-leaning think tanks, and 16 percent to progressive or left-leaning think tanks." The downward trend "is not necessarily a bad thing. ... Given that FAIR's surveys have consistently found that these supposedly detached experts actually tilt toward the center-right, fewer of them spinning and shaping news coverage may be a net plus for media transparency, if not diversity." The current issue of FAIR's magazine "Extra!" also contains the group's annual "Fear & Favor" report. Among the news outlets mentioned is Portland's KOIN-TV, which CMD documented airing a video news release. KOIN merited mention for its "weekly medical report," which is sponsored by Providence Health Systems and consistently features Providence experts and information.

The PR firm MultiVu has a new "social media news release targeting the U.S. Hispanic audience," reports PR Week. Its "Interactivo Multimedia News Release" (IMNR) distributes fake news "broadcast content, photos, and text to Hispanic social networks and news sites. Video content will also be distributed to video-sharing sites such as MiGente and HispaVista. And IMNR content will appear in Spanish on the Reuters billboard in Manhattan's Times Square." MultiVu parent company PR Newswire purchased Hispanic PR Wire in January. MultiVu's new division, "MultiVu Latino," is headed by Hispanic PR Wire co-founder Manny Ruiz.

Robin RaskinIn his new book True Enough: Learning to Live in a Post-Fact Society, Farhad Manjoo covers video news releases (VNRs) by looking at "VNR Queen" Robin Raskin. Manjoo describes a high-tech holiday gifts segment by Raskin, in which she warned that Apple's iPod makes kids vulnerable to "iPorn." While the Radio-Television News Directors Association -- which opposes any action to ensure VNR disclosure -- refused to talk with Manjoo, Raskin did. "I actually joked with my own colleagues that, 'Hey, I'm off to go do Whore TV'," she told him. "I was fully aware that that's what it was. And yet it's such a commonplace thing. I mean, there are people hawking drugs, guns, war. The worst that could happen to someone watching my segment is that you might buy a game you don't like."

Image from the PR videoA sponsored public relations video airing on cable stations in five Connecticut towns is drawing scrutiny. The video is structured like a news interview and is co-hosted by "one of the best known political reporters in the state," Duby McDowell. In the video, McDowell is identified as a "WFSB Political Analyst." While McDowell sometimes provides commentary on the television station WFSB-3, she also runs her own PR firm. The video was produced for a law firm that's one of McDowell's PR clients, and the interviewees are two of the firm's partners. McDowell admits that viewers might be confused about her role in the video, but added: "We have mentioned at the end that this is paid for by Shipman & Goodwin," the law firm. In the video, the lawyers discuss "a whopping $12.4 million jury verdict" in an eminent domain case that they won against the town of Branford. Branford is appealing the decision. During the PR video, one of the lawyers stresses that the appeal will result in additional costs for town residents. "We are certain to see property taxes rise," responds McDowell.

Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said he expected the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to move forward on "a large raft" of complaints against television stations, for undisclosed video news releases (VNRs). He said, "Whether dealing with payola or VNRs or product placement, the commission's fundamental concern is the same. The American public deserves to know when someone is trying to persuade them ... and so I am glad we are really bringing that to the forefront of our enforcement efforts." Based on the Center for Media and Democracy's three reports on the fake news spots, CMD and Free Press filed complaints with the FCC against 112 television stations. In September 2007, the FCC proposed its first-ever fines for fake news. Comcast received (and appealed) liability notices for its cable channel CN8 having aired five VNRs without disclosure. The complaints against the other 111 stations are still pending.

Listen to this week's edition of the "Weekly Radio Spin," the Center for Media and Democracy's audio report on the stories behind the news. This week, we look at Tony Blair's new gig, how to make people love fossil fuel and one news director's stand against fake news. In "Six Degrees of Spin and Fakin'," we tell you how many steps it takes to get from the U.S. Marines to Third World dictators. The Weekly Radio Spin is freely available for personal and broadcast use. Podcasters can subscribe to the XML feed on www.prwatch.org/audio or via iTunes. If you air the Weekly Radio Spin on your radio station, please email us at editor@prwatch.org to let us know. Thanks!

TV coverage of the FEMA press conferenceIf the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had used his new company's "communications management systems, the ill-fated press conference about the California wildfires would not have happened," former FEMA public affairs director John "Pat" Philbin told O'Dwyer's. After an October 2007 press conference where FEMA staffers posed as reporters, asking questions of their boss, Philbin was denied a planned promotion to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He was recently hired by PIER Systems, as a senior vice president and head of their East Coast operations. In a statement, PIER (which stands for "public information emergency response") said of the FEMA fake news conference: "It was clear to us that Pat became aware of the planning errors while things were happening. ... He accepted responsibility ... and he has paid a very high price." PIER's clients include BP, Shell, Allstate and the Office of Homeland Security.