January 7th, 2005 3:46 pm
Bush team scolded for disguised TV report
By Ceci Connolly /
[
color=#0000ff]Washington Post[/color]
WASHINGTON -- Shortly before last year's Super Bowl, local news
stations across the country aired a story by Mike Morris describing plans for a new White House ad campaign on the
dangers of drug abuse.
What viewers did not know was that Morris is not a journalist and his ''report" was
produced by the government, actions which constituted illegal ''covert propaganda," according to an investigation
by the Government Accountability Office.
In the second ruling of its kind, the investigative arm of Congress
this week scolded the Bush administration for distributing phony prepackaged news reports that include a
''suggested live intro" for anchors to read, interviews with Washington officials, and a closing that mimics a
typical broadcast news sign-off.
Although television stations knew the materials were produced by the Office of
National Drug Control Policy, there was nothing in the two-minute, prepackaged reports that would indicate to
viewers that they came from the government or that Morris, a former journalist, was working under contract for the
government.
''You think you are getting a news story but what you are getting is a paid announcement," said
Susan Poling, managing associate general counsel at the Government Accountability Office. ''What is objectionable
about these is the fact the viewer has no idea their tax dollars are being used to write and produce this video
segment."
In May, the Government Accountability Office concluded that the Department of Health and Human
Services violated two federal laws with similar fake news reports touting the administration's new Medicare drug
benefit. When that opinion was released, officials at the drug control office decided to stop the practice,
spokesman Thomas Riley said.
''Our lawyers disagree with the GAO interpretation," he said. Nevertheless, if
the video releases were going to be ''controversial or create an appearance of a problem," the agency decided it
was not worth pursuing, he said.
The prepackaged news pieces represent a fraction of the antidrug messages
distributed by the office, Riley said.
Production and distribution of the video news releases cost about
$155,000.
Riley said broadcast stations were fully aware they were receiving materials akin to printed press
releases that producers could ''slice and dice it however they want."
At least 300 news shows used some
portion of the prepackaged news reports, though it was impossible to determine how many aired the full story or just
portions such as ''sound bites," Riley said.
If the videos had been identified as coming from the federal
agency, that would have been legal, Poling said. But the television package looks like an authentic piece of
independent journalism.
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