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-Caveat Lector- Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or
propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress.White House Produces Fake News Videos
By Robert Pear
WASHINGTON, March 14 - Federal investigators are scrutinizing
television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to
pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law,
which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of
their prescription medicines.
The videos are intended for use in local television news programs.
Several include pictures of President Bush receiving a standing
ovation from a crowd cheering as he signed the Medicare law on Dec.
8.
The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human
Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is
not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who
says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting." But the production
company, Home Front Communications, said it had hired her to read a
script prepared by the government.
Another video, intended for Hispanic audiences, shows a Bush
administration official being interviewed in Spanish by a man who
identifies himself as a reporter named Alberto Garcia.
Another segment shows a pharmacist talking to an elderly customer.
The pharmacist says the new law "helps you better afford your
medications," and the customer says, "It sounds like a good idea."
Indeed, the pharmacist says, "A very good idea." The government also
prepared scripts that can be used by news anchors introducing what
the administration describes as a made-for-television "story
package."
In one script, the administration suggests that anchors use this
language: "In December, President Bush signed into law the first-
ever prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare. Since then,
there have been a lot of questions about how the law will help older
Americans and people with disabilities. Reporter Karen Ryan helps
sort through the details." The "reporter" then explains the benefits
of the new law.
Lawyers from the General Accounting Office, an investigative arm of
Congress, discovered the materials last month when they were looking
into the use of federal money to pay for certain fliers and
advertisements that publicize the Medicare law.
In a report to Congress last week, the lawyers said those fliers and
advertisements were legal, despite "notable omissions and other
weaknesses." Administration officials said the television news
segments were also a legal, effective way to educate beneficiaries.
Gary L. Kepplinger, deputy general counsel of the accounting office,
said, "We are actively considering some follow-up work related to
the materials we received from the Department of Health and Human
Services."
One question is whether the government might mislead viewers by
concealing the source of the Medicare videos, which have been
broadcast by stations in Oklahoma, Louisiana and other states.
Federal law prohibits the use of federal money for "publicity or
propaganda purposes" not authorized by Congress.
In the past, the General Accounting Office has found that federal
agencies violated this restriction when they disseminated editorials
and newspaper articles written by the government or its contractors
without identifying the source.
Kevin W. Keane, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human
Services, said there was nothing nefarious about the television
materials, which he said had been distributed to stations
nationwide. Under federal law, he said, the government is required
to inform beneficiaries about changes in Medicare.
"The use of video news releases is a common, routine practice in
government and the private sector," Mr. Keane said. "Anyone who has
questions about this practice needs to do some research on modern
public information tools."
But Democrats disagreed. "These materials are even more disturbing
than the Medicare flier and advertisements," said Senator Frank R.
Lautenberg (D-NJ). "The distribution of these videos is a covert
attempt to manipulate the press."
Mr. Lautenberg, Senator Edward M. Kennedy (DMA), and seven other
members of Congress requested the original review by the accounting
office.
In the videos and advertisements, the government urges beneficiaries
to call a toll-free telephone number, 1- 800-MEDICARE. People who
call that number can obtain recorded information about prescription
drug benefits if they recite the words "Medicare improvement."
Documents from the Medicare agency show why the administration is
eager to advertise the benefits of the new law, on radio and
television, in newspapers and on the Internet.
"Our consumer research has shown that beneficiaries are confused
about the Medicare Modernization Act and uncertain about what it
means for them," says one document from the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services.
Other documents suggest the scope of the publicity campaign: $12.6
million for advertising this winter, $18.5 million to publicize drug
discount cards this spring, about $18.5 million this summer, $30
million for a year of beneficiary education starting this fall and
$44 million starting in the fall of 2005.
"Video news releases" have been used for more than a decade.
Pharmaceutical companies have done particularly well with them,
producing news-style health features about the afflictions their
drugs are meant to cure.
The videos became more prominent in the late 1980s, as more and more
television stations cut news-gathering budgets and were glad to have
packaged news bits to call their own, even if they were prepared by
corporations seeking to sell products. As such, the videos have
drawn criticism from some news media ethicists, who consider them to
be at odds with journalism's mission to verify independently the
claims of corporations and governments.
Government agencies have also produced such videos for years, often
on subjects like teenage smoking and the dangers of using steroids.
But the Medicare materials wander into more controversial territory.
Bill Kovach, chairman of the Committee of Concerned Journalists,
expressed disbelief that any television stations would present the
Medicare videos as real news segments, considering the current
debate about the merits of the new law. "Those to me are just the
next thing to fraud," Mr. Kovach said. "It's running a paid
advertisement in the heart of a news program."
Jim Rutenberg contributed reporting for this article.
Source: The New York Times
Please let us stay on topic and be civil.-Home Page- www.cia-drugs.org
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