Be "Proactive" on Fake News, Broadcasters Told

A public relations trade publication has editorialized in favor of video news release (VNR) disclosure ... sort of. "The Federal Communications Commission is correctly serving the US citizens' right to know where footage originates," writes PR Week. "And no amount of rhetoric will change the fact that a corporate-produced video is less likely to be critical of a particular subject than an independent, news-produced video." The magazine suggests that "broadcasters and news producers" agree on "a universal VNR disclosure standard. ... The news organizations must realize either through proactive means or via the brunt force of the FCC, tomorrow's VNRs will be broadcast with labels." In other words, the PR and broadcast industries still might be able to forestall independent oversight if they promise, once again, to do a better job of policing themselves.