QuantumFog

August 29, 2006

Here's the guys who copied your test

The news media is starting to get the morally depraved reputation of used car salesmen. They forget about Afghanistan to report about Iraq, forget about Iraq to report about Lebanon, forget about Lebanon to spend a week on some drunk guy in Hollywood. Now, it all about a pedophile who decides he's been a bad boy and needs a spanking.

At a time when fundamentalists are facing off each other in several countries, we need unbiased and objective TV news broadcasts that isn't prone to sensationalist tripe. So, what could make it worse? Suppose they're spoonfed information from "news sources".

The Center for Media and Democracy documented 77 TV stations who disguised sources such as General Motors, Pfizer and Capital One. Video releases created by these and other companies were either broadcast as received or given a "voice over" to add a local touch to the piece. The broadcast audience is rarely given any indication of authorship, leaving one to think independent journalism is presenting unbiased facts.

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein sent letters of inquiry to the license holders. Said Adelstein, "Shoddy practices make it difficult for views to tell the difference between the news and propaganda".

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