Submitted by John Stauber on
For years CBS (and all the other networks) have run fake news stories in the form of Video News Releases (VNRs). But now, CBS is also in the business of creating, producing and distributing VNRs. These phony news stories appear on TV networks and their affiliates, misleading viewers into thinking they are watching real news reports when in fact they are watching cleverly-disguised commercials designed to look just like real news. Thousands of VNRS are produced and aired every year. TV news directors save money by filling air time with these slanted, pseudo-news segments that stealthily promote clients' products and ideas. Now CBS has taken this outrage to a new level by entering the profitable business of selling, producing and distributing VNRs. A CBS Media Group advertisement in the current PR Week urges potential clients to hire CBS and "put one of the world's leading media companies to work for you" producing video news releases. CBS even guarantees "placement on the CBS Newspath VNR feed." Karen L. Kapnick, formerly an account manager with MediaLink, runs CBS's VNR business.
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