FCC asks TV stations about use of VNRs

The FCC wants to know if TV stations have been properly identifying video news releases in newscasts. The FCC has sent out letters to 77 stations, after a study by the Center for Media and Democracy found those stations using VNRs without attribution. Stations face a $32,500 fine for airing video handout footage without labeling it. Unlike the obscenity penalty, this one has not been increased tenfold. Misleading people with fake news is apparently less of a crime than subjecting them to a suggestive scene or dirty word.

5 comments August 15th, 2006