Getting the Extra Exposure from a PSA

Public service announcements -- those informational spots that air for free on radio and TV -- are technically not supposed to be thought of in commercial terms, but Erica Iacono writes that "there are ways for corporate sponsors to gain recognition" through PSAs. In a PR Week feature examining how to get "the extra mile out of a PSA," Iacono highlights a King Oscar sardines partnership with the Women's Sports Foundation.

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Thanks for the (False) Memories: the 2004 Falsies Awards

This year marks the beginning of a new tradition for the Center for Media and Democracy. To remember the people and players responsible for polluting our information environment, we are issuing a new year-end prize that we call the "Falsies Awards." The top ten finalists will each receive a million bucks worth of free coupons, a lifetime supply of non-fattening ice cream, an expenses-paid vacation in Fallujah, and our promise to respect them in the morning. The winners of the Falsies Awards for 2004 are:

1. I'm Karen Ryan, reporting

Karen RyanLet's hear it for video news releases finally getting a smattering of the public scrutiny they deserve. A video news release or VNR is a simulated TV news story. Video clips paid for by corporations, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations are commonly passed off as legitimate news segments on local newscasts throughout the United States. VNRs are designed to be indistinguishable from traditional TV news and are often aired without the original producers and sponsors being identified and sometimes without any local editing.

The Biggest Media Story of the Year

The "most important media story of the year," according to Steve Lovelady, managing editor of Campaigndesk.org, was "the way in which the press was so easily manipulated by spin machines all the way through the election campaign, partly thanks to the fact that it was hopelessly hobbled by some of its own outdated conventions and frameworks. And that, in turn, is related to its embarrassing performance in 2003 on weapons of mass destruction and on the question of an Iraqi tie to 9/11."

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