FCC is No Place for TV News Regulation

FCC IS NO PLACE FOR TV NEWS REGULATION
[SOURCE: tvnewsday, AUTHOR: Harry Jessell]
[Commentary] The Martin FCC is betraying traditional, small-government Republican principals in its crackdown on broadcast indecency, its sudden interest in media’s role in childhood obesity and its mindless extension of children’s programming rules to digital broadcasting. But the worst example of overreaching government by the Martin FCC is its current investigation into how TV stations are using video news releases. The newsroom is a place that no government official should want to be, especially a Republican. But, right now, with its letters of inquiry, the FCC is right in the middle of more than three dozen newsrooms, looking over the shoulder of news directors, producers and reporters. Much of the concern about VNRs stems from reports that the Bush administration was making heavy use of them to sell its policies. Some called it domestic propaganda. Now, if the government wants to curtail the executive branch’s ability to send out VNRs, that’s fine. But it should not get in the way of anybody receiving and using VNRs, regardless of their source. The use of VNRs is self-regulating. Viewers can sniff out their indiscriminate use and will avoid newscast that rely too heavily on them. TV stations have been embarrassed repeatedly by press reports of their use, particularly those from the Bush administration, and the lack of responsibility shown in airing them without proper attribution. By harassing TV stations about VNRs, the FCC has climbed in bed with the brain-dead advocacy group, the Center for Media and Democracy. The FCC investigation springs from a study the group did into VNR use. The CMD apparently wants greater government regulation and oversight of TV news. At the same time, it wants TV news to be a more aggressive government watchdog. It’s too dumb to see the inherent conflict in those goals.
http://www.tvnewsday.com/articles/2006/10/11/daily.4/