Scouted: U.S. Videos, for TV News, Come Under Scrutiny

[Tom Beck]

Considering the outrage of certain members of this list over taxpayer  
funding of NPR, I expect them to evince equal fury for this example of  
taxpayer money being used for what is essentially propaganda.  
Government-produced fake newscasts are particularly despicable, in my  
opinion.



http://www.nytimes.com/2004/03/15/politics/15VIDE.html

WASHINGTON, March 14 — Federal investigators are scrutinizing  
television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to  
pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law,  
which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of  
their prescription medicines.

The videos are intended for use in local television news programs.  
Several include pictures of President Bush receiving a standing ovation  
from a crowd cheering as he signed the Medicare law on Dec. 8.

The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human  
Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not  
identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In  
Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."

But the production company, Home Front Communications, said it had  
hired her to read a script prepared by the government.

Another video, intended for Hispanic audiences, shows a Bush  
administration official being interviewed in Spanish by a man who  
identifies himself as a reporter named Alberto Garcia.

Another segment shows a pharmacist talking to an elderly customer. The  
pharmacist says the new law "helps you better afford your medications,"  
and the customer says, "It sounds like a good idea." Indeed, the  
pharmacist says, "A very good idea."

The government also prepared scripts that can be used by news anchors  
introducing what the administration describes as a made-for-television  
"story package."

In one script, the administration suggests that anchors use this  
language: "In December, President Bush signed into law the first-ever  
prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare. Since then, there  
have been a lot of questions about how the law will help older  
Americans and people with disabilities. Reporter Karen Ryan helps sort  
through the details."

The "reporter" then explains the benefits of the new law.

Lawyers from the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of  
Congress, discovered the materials last month when they were looking  
into the use of federal money to pay for certain fliers and  
advertisements that publicize the Medicare law.

In a report to Congress last week, the lawyers said those fliers and  
advertisements were legal, despite "notable omissions and other  
weaknesses." Administration officials said the television news segments  
were also a legal, effective way to educate beneficiaries.

Gary L. Kepplinger, deputy general counsel of the accounting office,  
said, "We are actively considering some follow-up work related to the  
materials we received from the Department of Health and Human  
Services."

One question is whether the government might mislead viewers by  
concealing the source of the Medicare videos, which have been broadcast  
by stations in Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states.

Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or  
propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress. In the past, the  
General Accounting Office has found that federal agencies violated this  
restriction when they disseminated editorials and newspaper articles  
written by the government or its contractors without identifying the  
source.

Kevin W. Keane, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human  
Services, said there was nothing nefarious about the television  
materials, which he said had been distributed to stations nationwide.  
Under federal law, he said, the government is required to inform  
beneficiaries about changes in Medicare.

"The use of video news releases is a common, routine practice in  
government and the private sector," Mr. Keane said. "Anyone who has  
questions about this practice needs to do some research on modern  
public information tools."

But Democrats disagreed. "These materials are even more disturbing than  
the Medicare flier and advertisements," said Senator Frank R.  
Lautenberg, Democrat of New Jersey. "The distribution of these videos  
is a covert attempt to manipulate the press."



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Tom Beck

my LiveJournal: http://www.livejournal.com/users/tomfodw/

"I always knew I'd see the first man on the Moon. I never thought I'd  
see the last." - Dr. Jerry Pournelle

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