(VNR = Video News Release)
This came to a head in the past few weeks when various folk got all upset about the Bush associates producing video clips which tv stations ran as "news" without identifying the source.
Despite people suddenly discovering this annoyance, VNRs have actually been around for decades. You think that five minute clip about car safety (prominently showing a specific car's side impact airbags ...) was put together by your local station? Hah. I laugh at your kung fu.
Now that they were jogged, the FCC sent a reminder to stations that they're supposed to identify the producers/distributers ...
"With this Public Notice, the Commission reminds broadcast licensees and cable operators that air VNRs, as well as all entities and individuals involved in the production and provision of the material at issue here, of their respective disclosure responsibilities under the Commission's sponsorship identification rules ...
(most FCC material is available all three ways. URLs are identical except for the trailing extension)
_____________________________________________________ Knowledge may be power, but communications is the key snipped-for-privacy@panix.com [to foil spammers, my address has been double rot-13 encoded]