Guest guest Posted May 23, 2005 Report Share Posted May 23, 2005 23 May 2005 18:57:08 -0000 weekly-spin Help fight fake news Dear Weekly Spin reader, " Video news releases, masquerading as news " have been able to supplant real journalism due to media consolidation and one of its " most pernicious symptoms, " the increasing commercialization of news media. That's what the Federal Communications Commission's Jonathan Adelstein told an audience of nearly two thousand at the recent National Conference on Media Reform. Now that video news releases (VNRs) are finally beginning to receive the public scrutiny they deserve, the Center for Media and Democracy is increasing our efforts to stop fake news. But we need your support to wage this important fight. Please, contribute now, using our secure online form: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1118 In the Center's 1995 book " Toxic Sludge Is Good For You, " John Stauber and Sheldon Rampton revealed how TV stations air VNRs, unattributed, presenting them as " news " to an unsuspecting public. Exposing such fraudulent journalism is at the core of our mission. Our campaign to stop fake news will go beyond the U.S. taxpayer-funded VNRs at the eye of the current storm. Corporations pioneered fake news techniques, and they still dominate the field. The pharmaceutical and health industries rely heavily on fake news to sell their products. And while proposed U.S. federal legislation would require disclosure for government-sponsored VNRs and their radio equivalent, audio news releases (ANRs), corporations would remain free to spread their propaganda covertly. We need your support to mount an effective campaign against VNRs, ANRs, paid pundits like Armstrong Williams and other distortions of our information environment, no matter who's behind them. Please donate today: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1118 Commissioner Adelstein challenged media activists to be " the troops that can and will call corporate media to account. " He urged attendees of the National Conference on Media Reform to watch for undisclosed VNRs and product placements. " f you catch them red-handed, send a formal complaint to the FCC and be sure to send a copy to me, " he said. " Because we'll get it investigated. ... We're going to shut down this fraud that is being perpetrated on the American people by the media. " The Commissioner's comments, along with the FCC's recent public notice on VNRs, mean that the time to act is now. The Center and the non-partisan media reform group Free Press are launching an ambitious effort to track and monitor fake news, at the national and local levels. But we need your help. You can be a part of the movement to stop fake news by contributing to the Center, either online at: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?id=1118 or by sending a check (made out to " CMD " ) to: Center for Media and Democracy, 520 University Ave, Suite 227, Madison, WI 53703. Thank you for your support of media democracy issues, Laura Miller Editor of PR Watch, the quarterly publication of the Center for Media and Democracy p.s. For more information on fake news and to learn how to get involved in the fight against it, visit our No Fake News page: http://www.prwatch.org/nofakenews _____________ Weekly-Spin mailing list Weekly-Spin http://two.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/weekly-spin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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