White House Defends Video News Releases

[Rose Siding]

WASHINGTON -- The White House on Monday defended the administration's use of video news releases that are sent to television stations across the country and frequently used without any acknowledgment of the government's role in their production.

In an opinion last week, the Justice Department concluded that the practice was appropriate as long as the videos presented factual information about government programs, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. He said the opinion was forwarded to agencies and departments last week.

Questions have been raised about government media practices after the revelation that several conservative columnists were paid to promote administration policies and did not tell their audiences that they had received federal money. President Bush, after the practice was disclosed, said it was wrong and ordered that it stop.
...
McClellan suggested the lack of disclosure was the fault of the broadcasters, not the government.

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-government-videos,0,1576895.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

[tjdee]

1. Well, he's right.

What the fuck is going on with our "news" media these days?

I'm still wondering who else got paid to give us Bushnews, for pete's sake.

[grumpy old fart]

6. The NYT piece really put it in perspective...lazy MSM is the enabler....

The admin puts out the spin, and the lazy media not only pass it on, they edit the stuff to look like they actually originated it. Just plain awful all around....

[leQ]

16. ya, that was a great article (eom)

.

[radfringe]

31. more "not our fault"

it's the tv stations fault for airing it... :eyes:

doesn't this administration ever take any responsibility for anything it does?

[GetTheRightVote]

2. all I can say, is more control of media lines

:kick:

[kevinmc]

3. Petition against Fake News

Stop Fake News

http://www.freepress.net/action/fakenews

[rodeodance]

53. thanks

[jdj]

4. and they lied about the one where they said they woman was a

reporter when she was really a partisan hack.

If you have to do shit like this, something is seriously wrong.

[shanti]

5. and guess who's doing this here

in cali?


YOU GOT IT! ;-)

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Here is the official document that they use as reference:

Oceania was at war with Eurasia now, but just four years ago, these two had formed an alliance against Eastasia. Winston remembered this clearly, but it made no difference what he or any other individual remembered, for the Party said that Eurasia had always been the Enemy and what the Party said was the Truth. This, thought Winston, was the most frightening aspect of the party regime-that it could obliterate memory, turn lies into Truth and alter the Past. The Party slogan was “Who controls the past controls the future; who controls the present controls the past.” This was where “doublethink” came into play, minds were trained to hold contradictory positions simultaneously and unquestioningly- for example you had to believe at one and the same time that Democracy was impossible and that the Party was the guardian of democracy. Winston could remember a time when the Party did not rule, when Big Brother had not become all-powerful; but according to the Party they had always existed and this lie was repeated ad infinitum until it “became” the truth. This, Winston thought was a far more terrible weapon in the hands of the Party than torture or execution.

George Orwell's 1984

[AlinPA]

9. IMO, the US is living with much of "1984" propaganda methods.

The broadcast media especially.

[Kagemusha]

8. I dub this 'Catch me if you can' government.

You heard it here first. (I hope.)

But geez what a stance to take....!!

Edited to add another one.

End of the free press - start of the fee press.

(as in for a fee they'll give out any propaganda they're asked to and won't even attribute it to the government)

[HamiltonHabs32]

10. the videos in question

you can see them here

[lostinthefog]

11. Just another example of...

... this administration's belief that the ends justify the means.

Just like Iraq.
Just like Social Security.
Just like the tax cuts for the wealthy
Just like no-bid contracts to Haliburton
Just like....

[myrna minx]

56. Welcome to DU, lostinthefog.

:hi:

[MnFats]

12. Goddamnit, I want my quarter million!

Hell, I'll talk up No Child in my little paper, or here for that matter.

Just Kidding. I think.

[peacetalksforall]

13. Do you think that they went to the USSR to find out how to cook and dish

out the propaganda from the propagandists there, especially the older ones...and if yes, did they also charge that trip and fees to the taxpayers.?

How does the INJUSTICE DEPT get off saying that it is OK? It's not and it's not OK that taxpayers pay to get 'propagandized to'.

Liars, thieves, killers, destroyers.

[cosmicdot]

19. never could understand Ashcroft's June 2002 vist to Moscow

Dept of State visiting Moscow is one thing .... but the DOJ? just seems 'unique' to say the least ...


just a random google hit ...

JOHN ASHCROFT’S witch-hunt jumped to a new level earlier this month. On June 10, the attorney general held a press conference--by satellite from Moscow--to announce that U.S. authorities had arrested an alleged al-Qaeda operative who was plotting to set off a bomb packed with radioactive material in Washington, D.C.

The announcement sparked a wave of panic--with the mainstream media leading the way, their "experts" frantically describing the potential devastation of a so-called "dirty bomb." Yet in a week’s time, even the White House had to admit that Ashcroft’s Moscow statement was a tissue of exaggerations and outright lies.

The "dirty bomb" frenzy proved once again that the Bush gang will say anything to defend their "war on terrorism"--and deflect attention from any political criticism.
http://www.socialistworker.org/2002-2/411/411_12_DirtyBombHoax.shtml

[gizmo1979]

14. Why are the News org. not asking

why should we play this?4TH Estate my ass.

[Just Me]

15. The buck always stops,...OVER THERE!!!

First, the crap the administration is putting out does not, not, NOT report all the facts. To the contrary, the pieces are deceptive, manipulative propaganda.

Second, no one other than the administration is responsible for putting out deceptive, manipulative propaganda.

I can only hope that this latest edict will seriously anger the "broadcasters" to the point that they will totally retaliate!

:grr:

[Bake]

17. The Justice Dept. is PART of this misAdministration ... HELLOOOOO

Does anyone think its "opinion" would be any different? It is part and parcel of this crooked administration!

Bake

[DesEtoiles]

18. What color is the sky in McClellan's world?

[magellan]

20. So the Justice Dept approves of stealth government propaganda

...being fed to unwitting Americans as "news" as long as it's the truth?

The TRUTH?? From OUR government??? The cabal in there NOW that won't be held responsible for organizing their own desk drawers without a scapegoat on standby???

BWA HA HA HAHA!!

Who, I wonder, verifies these sublime facts, and if they're true then why must the government disguise them as uncredited news reports??? </rhetorical>

White House = Ministry of Propaganda. Our tax dollars at work.

[MiniMe]

21. One real question is if the documents

present factual information about government programs, why don't they want to acknowledge the governments role in their production? If you have nothing to hide the disclosure should be no problem.

[peacebird]

50. exactly.

but if you recall the previous "news releases" were full of very slanted "information", as the next batch will be as well.

for the administration it's better to let the sheeple think that their local news stations are doing the reporting so they will believe it is INDEPENDENT confirmation of govt positions...

[Trillo]

22. Remember--

Justice Department doesn't equal Judicial Branch
(title doublespeak?)

The former IS the Executive Branch. Gonzales now heads it as AG. The Barbarian who rationalizes how subvert the Geneva Convention rules on torture.

This article itself is simply more PROPAGANDA, PR, HYPE, BS--whatever you want to call it.

[magellan]

24. Not sure I understand. Are you saying the article is false? (nt)

[Trillo]

25. Reread. Keep the source topic in mind. (nt)

[magellan]

27. Sorry, I need to be spoon-fed tonight :-)

I'm a little low on sleep. Source title is "White House Defends Video News Releases". I know the JD is headed by Gonzales and his stamp of approval is nothing but cronyism. But how does that mean the article is BS?

[Trillo]

28. It is the Executive Branch's 'opinion' that the Executive Branch

didn't break any laws or do anything 'inappropriate.' It's all from the same source.

Hypothetical: Let's say you get ripped off, someone steals something of yours that you value. Are you going to ask the thief if they ripped you off and expect to get an honest answer?

I'd expect the thief to give me BS.

[magellan]

32. Right, we're on the same wavelength....

I just took you too literally when you said the article is BS. Thanks for being patient with me. :)

[Trillo]

35. No biggie. Its recently come to my attention that I have

trouble reading/writing anything from a purely literal perspective.

[rodeodance]

55. i expect that your expection would be right on --good one

[Zorra]

23. "Factual" as in "Bu*h science"? *snarf*...bwaahaahaahaahaahaahaa

The US is nothing but a dangerous joke these daze.

And our DOJ has become the biggest joke of all. What would these people do if they had to get a real job?

Fucking lackeys.

[Dr Fate]

26. I admire the way they forcefully stick to their story & never back down.

We need to do more of that.

[burrowowl]

29. Go here

and sign petition:

http://www.StopFakeNews.org

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

30. Parry.

Will there be a thrust?

:shrug:

[w4rma]

33. That's a headline that noone will pay attention to. Yet it could have been

written in a better way that would draw attention and sell newspapers.

[Stevious]

34. (It's propaganda, stupid)

Is it public relations or propaganda?

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2027&e=19&u=/chitribts/isitpublicrelationsorpropaganda

[Moderator]

36. kick to combine

[papau]

37. Administration Rejects Ruling On PR Videos-GAO Called Tapes Illegal Propag

The GAO opinion condemning the practice by federal agencies of feeding PR "news stories" to TV stations vs. the office of legal counsel saying they are not covert propaganda.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35010-2005Mar14.html

Administration Rejects Ruling On PR Videos
GAO Called Tapes Illegal Propaganda
By Christopher Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, March 15, 2005; Page A21


The Bush administration, rejecting an opinion from the Government Accountability Office, said last week that it is legal for federal agencies to feed TV stations prepackaged news stories that do not disclose the government's role in producing them.

That message, in memos sent Friday to federal agency heads and general counsels, contradicts a Feb. 17 memo from Comptroller General David M. Walker. Walker wrote that such stories -- designed to resemble independently reported broadcast news stories so that TV stations can run them without editing -- violate provisions in annual appropriations laws that ban covert propaganda.

But Joshua B. Bolten, director of the Office of Management and Budget, and Steven G. Bradbury, principal deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department, said in memos last week that the administration disagrees with the GAO's ruling. And, in any case, they wrote, the department's Office of Legal Counsel, not the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress, provides binding legal interpretations for federal agencies to follow.

The legal counsel's office "does not agree with GAO that the covert propaganda prohibition applies simply because an agency's role in producing and disseminating information is undisclosed or 'covert,' regardless of whether the content of the message is 'propaganda,' " Bradbury wrote. "Our view is that the prohibition does not apply where there is no advocacy of a particular viewpoint, and therefore it does not apply to the legitimate provision of information concerning the programs administered by an agency."<snip>

[Tace]

38. It's Nice To See This Out In The Open

[Protagoras]

39. how far is it gone beyond the WP?

I'm still waiting to see it on a news channel...though I'm sure if it were they'd be careful to assure us all that it's OK...cuz after all, it's probably sandwiched between 2 other advertizements masquerading as news stories.

It's really time to pull the rug out from under the MSM...the center cannot hold.

[Robbien]

41. Did you see the huge article in yesterday's NYT?

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/03/13/politics/13covert.html?incamp=article_popular_1&pagewanted=print&position=
Under Bush, a New Age of Prepackaged TV News

"Thank you, Bush. Thank you, U.S.A.," a jubilant Iraqi-American told a camera crew in Kansas City for a segment about reaction to the fall of Baghdad. A second report told of "another success" in the Bush administration's "drive to strengthen aviation security"; the reporter called it "one of the most remarkable campaigns in aviation history." A third segment, broadcast in January, described the administration's determination to open markets for American farmers.

To a viewer, each report looked like any other 90-second segment on the local news. In fact, the federal government produced all three. The report from Kansas City was made by the State Department. The "reporter" covering airport safety was actually a public relations professional working under a false name for the Transportation Security Administration. The farming segment was done by the Agriculture Department's office of communications.

Under the Bush administration, the federal government has aggressively used a well-established tool of public relations: the prepackaged, ready-to-serve news report that major corporations have long distributed to TV stations to pitch everything from headache remedies to auto insurance. In all, at least 20 federal agencies, including the Defense Department and the Census Bureau, have made and distributed hundreds of television news segments in the past four years, records and interviews show. Many were subsequently broadcast on local stations across the country without any acknowledgement of the government's role in their production.

This winter, Washington has been roiled by revelations that a handful of columnists wrote in support of administration policies without disclosing they had accepted payments from the government. But the administration's efforts to generate positive news coverage have been considerably more pervasive than previously known. At the same time, records and interviews suggest widespread complicity or negligence by television stations, given industry ethics standards that discourage the broadcast of prepackaged news segments from any outside group without revealing the source.

Federal agencies are forthright with broadcasters about the origin of the news segments they distribute. The reports themselves, though, are designed to fit seamlessly into the typical local news broadcast. In most cases, the "reporters" are careful not to state in the segment that they work for the government. Their reports generally avoid overt ideological appeals. Instead, the government's news-making apparatus has produced a quiet drumbeat of broadcasts describing a vigilant and compassionate administration.

and much more at the link . . .

[papau]

43. A great Acticle! :-)

:-)

[Protagoras]

45. now it just needs to move beyond print

and into the magic hypnobox that has mesmerized the bulk of the American population. Otherwise it isn't really real. Gotta appear on the TV for people to accept it.

[electropop]

46. OK, so it's covert, and it's propaganda, but

it's not "covert propaganda", so it's not prohibited? WTF? Can't these clowns come up with anything less silly sounding?

[Tennessee T]

40. Illegal Regime Ignores Law

Fascist Theocrats Techno define the law. That's what is at work here.
Fascism is alive and well in the 21st Century. The strides made in the use of media, modern technology and research regarding mass psychology as a control device is applicable to what we are witnessing in this country. People that have not fallen under this
deception need to speak out and hold fascism responsible. Nay-sayers to this idea are cowards and should also be held accountable.

[Frances]

42. The Gropinator

has been doing the same thing in California.

Maybe it's standard operating Republican procedure to use the taxpayers' money to get what you want.

[thecrow]

44. "....no advocacy of a particular viewpoint" ...???????

Hello?
Earth to Chimp...
WTF!?!? this is definitely an advocacy of a particular viewpoint not so cleverly disguised as "news".

The problem is that this administration has its slimy operatives in every department of government.

The question is how do wee remedy this?

[papau]

47. Sorry - DUPE

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1313254

[The Backlash Cometh]

48. Can you believe this shit! There they go again, changing the rules

to suit them.

[Javaman]

52. If it needs to be argued and redefined, it's propaganda...

A skunk by any other name smells just as bad.

[Democrats_win]

49. Berlin Bush or Tokyo George--joke about government prop in the USSA

[Rose Siding]

51. White House to agencies: Ignore GAO's ruling on 'illegal' TV news releases

WASHINGTON - The White House, intent on continuing to crank out "video news releases" that look like television news stories, has told government agency heads to ignore a Government Accountability Office memo criticizing the practice as illegal propaganda.
...
Comptroller General David Walker of the GAO said Monday that his agency is "disappointed by the administration's actions" in telling agency heads to ignore the GAO, the investigative arm of Congress.

"This is not just a legal issue, it's also an ethical matter," Walker said. "The taxpayers have a right to know when the government is trying to influence them with their own money."

http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/0315bush-news15.html

The press is pretty exercised about this (they like stories about themselves) so maybe it will go somewhere. Seems a WH lawyer can be found to write up a memo supporting just about anything.

[rodeodance]

54. that petition in # 3 wants the FCC involved--

[XemaSab]

57. The MSM needs to get on this

If for no other reason than when it gets out, it calls the integrity of the whole Newsmacht into question.

It's like the Jayson Blair thing, the NYT was right to publicly come out with a HUGE article (12 pages) on it right away, instead of trying to bury it.

But with this, if the MSM tries to hide it and it leaks out anyways, if people learn about it they will cease to trust the news, and that can't be good for the news agencies.

Not that I think the MSM aren't a bunch of lazy hacks, but this is beyond sleazy, IMHO.