Time to follow the travails of some of those TV stations that got letters of inquiry from the FCC asking whether they broadcast "fake news"—corporate produced Video News Releases (VNRs) made to look like legit news stories.

The letters went out in the middle of this month in response to a report released in April by the Center for Media and Democracy indicating that 77 television stations, reaching more than half the U.S. population, have aired such VNRs.

Here's some of the fallout so far:

• Boston's WHDH-TV went to the trouble of revoicing and editing a VNR Christmas feature produced for Toshiba and Fisher-Price Toys. They just did not tell their viewers that the companies paid for the piece, the Boston Herald reports.

  "We did not air a disclaimer, and we do have a policy against airing them," a WHDH flak later said. "We had a producer on that night who did not run the segment by the news director." Yeah, blame the night shift.

• The Decatur Daily reports that Huntsville, Tennessee's own WHNT admits they used fake news.

  "Channel 19 regrettably did air video news releases in the past," WHNT General Manager Craig Mars says. "Since then, we've clarified our policy and taken the extreme measure that we are not to use any video news releases."

  WHNT ran a VNR on Valentine's Day tips and a feature titled "Quick and Healthy Housekeeping with Laura Bellutri." The New York Times, no stranger to fake news itself, owns the station.

• The folks at WBRZ-TV of Baton Rouge say they sure did run a VNR and they're not sorry, according to the Louisiana Advocate:

  "The [Center for Media and Democracy] noted WBRZ aired without attribution a VNR on ethanol plants created by a public relations firm on behalf of Siemens AG, a corporation with a financial stake in the construction of ethanol plants. The station defended the decision, saying the content was vetted to make sure it was accurate."

  Advocate co-owner Richard Manship serves as CEO of WBRZ. The stations' news director accused The Center "of having a bias against public relations agencies," the article continues.

• Staff at WKBW-TV of Buffalo, New York have been told to clean up their act after the station got a letter from the FCC, according to Alan Pergament of the Buffalo News. Actually, WKBW didn't run a VNR. The station broadcast an interview on Super Bowl parties with "The Clever Cleaver Boys," who recommended various products sold by some of the TV station's sponsors. Since the feature aired within a magazine style show that warns its viewers that it broadcasts sponsored pieces, the station may dodge a spanking this time. But the scare clearly has had a salubrious effect nonetheless.

Fake news for dummies?

By the way, in case you have any doubts that ad agencies deliberately make VNRs look like news features, get yourself a copy of Tim Bahr's illuminating booklet, Broadcast and Beyond: A Guide to Broadcast and Web-based Public Relations. Bahr is President of Multivu, which produces VNRs, Web casts, news releases, and in-flight videos.

So impressed was I with the pamphlet that I contacted Bahr for an interview, several times in fact. I received no response, but at least I've got Bahr's opus. Chapter one of Broadcast and Beyond summarizes the hows and whys of VNRs. Thus we learn on page two that:

"A VNR's produced news story is structured like a well-produced television news report, with soundbites from experts and people who have had first-hand experience. Together, these soundbites provide the expert knowledge and testimonials necessary to give your story merit."

Here's something else to remember:

"A key point to keep in mind with VNRs—and any other content intended for use by television news—is that the video should be shot and edited in the style of television news. Dramatic lighting effects and camera moves such as dolly shots are typically not used in news coverage; therefore, they are not recommend for use in VNRs."

And in conclusion:

"VNRs are evoling into highly effective communications tools that can visually deliver news to target audiences across a variety of media formats. For the time being, however, the main purpose of a VNR is to facilitate television news coverage. Therefore, providing news that is relevant to a diverse television audience is essential to gaining television coverage. In other words, you should use VNRs for stories that will play well on TV news."

PS: You can pick up a free copy of Bahr's brisk little instructional at multivu.com.

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