In a rare case of a Bush-era Federal agency doing its job, the Federal Communications Commission proposes waging a fine for networks running VNRs as genuine news.
But before you get all excited, it’s a paltry sum; a mere fraction of the cost of running an ad in the first place - and certainly much, much less than the fines levied against programmers for one of the dreaded seven words or the odd, stray nipple:
The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $4,000 fine against Comcast Corp. for airing a pitch for a sleep aid without telling viewers that the spot was financed by the maker of the product.The fine was in response to a complaint by the Center for Media and Democracy, a media watchdog group, which said it marks the first time a company has been sanctioned for airing a “video news release,” a type of programming it dubs “fake news.”
Predictably, cable oligarchs Comcast are fighting it - under the pretext that the same leniency that allows Deadwood to have its dialog written by someone with Tourette’s should allow them to air any damn thing as news.
It’ll be interesting to see if this will be enforced selectively against VNRs that are built around political wedge issues, this upcoming election cycle.
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