Commercial free speech doesn't apply to government under President Bush

Many of the stories you read in the newspaper and in magazines, or hear on the radio or see on television are the result of information contained in a press release.

A press release is generally a single viewpoint, usually prepared by former journalists working in public relations, that espouses a position that favors a particular client, whether it's an individual company, an organization or an industry. As such, all press releases are propaganda to one extent or another. Newspapers have space to fill and in the case of broadcasters, time to fill, and the press release is one way of filling that space and time. When a reporter is short of story ideas, he often goes to the press release.

There is a symbiotic relationship between the press and the press release. Reporters don't have time to search far and wide for stories and the press release is the equivalent of the kid in class who raises his hand seeking to be called upon for an answer by the teacher.

In college, I would scan the news and determine what topic held the nation's interest, then I'd set about finding a local expert to comment on that particular topic. Oftentimes I'd find that expert with the help of a publicist working for the state college I was attending. For example, the Law of the Sea Treaty was big news in the early '80s when I was in college, and a non-voting delegate to the the Law of the Sea Treaty conference for the land-locked country of Nepal happened to be a American scientist teaching at my college. With the help of the college publicist, I was able to interview him and get his views and his explanation about the treaty. He localized an international story, and the information I obtained from him helped everyone understand a complex issue. It was good for me, because it helped me write the story. It was good for him, because it resulted in publicity for him, increasing his stature. And it was good for the college, because he was an professor there and he obviously had international connections.

There is also an adversarial relationship between public relations and the press. Many times a press release will be generated to counter information that is contained within a news report. For example, you might see a news report with information that eggs can contain salmonella. Very shortly after that report is issued, you'd probably see a press release from the American Egg Board saying that great care and precautions are taken to ensure that eggs on the grocers shelves are fresh and free of bacteria of any kind. And the press release might have information on what the consumer can do to store eggs so that bacteria growth is impaired.

I've written about press releases here, in my blog, devoting nearly an entire post to some press releases put out just prior to and following the death of Pope John Paul II. I consulted the press release put out by the American Association of Publishers went I wrote my comment on "The high cost of textbooks." And I would never had known about the first Army reservist in the Global War on Terror to receive a Silver Star for gallantry had I not found a press release from the Army Reserve on the award. As far as I know I was the only one to contact the Bureau of the Census regarding their press release on a very large Easter Egg hunt.

Press releases can be mailed, or they can be sent out -- for a fee -- over the major press release wires, including PR Newswire, U.S. Newswire and Business Wire. In fact, the Securities and Exchange Commission rules say companies have to disclose information that may affect stock price over at least one of these press release wires.

The written press release is the most common form of communication. It actually resembles the format a news story might take if submitted to an editor. It's designed that way. The thinking is that reporters and editors are generally harried and somewhat lazy. The easier it is for a reporter to put a story together and get it to his editor, the better chance the press release will be used and the better chance the company producing the press release will achieve the free publicity it seeks. Some newspapers take these press releases and run them as is, some edit the information, some do value-added, some cherry-pick quotes or salient information, and some put them in files, upright or circular. It depends on the organization.

So it was natural that corporations started putting out press releases in video format for broadcast by television. Not every reporter at every local news outlet could interview the chairman of the XYZ Widget Corp., but a publicist could interview that chairman, acting like a reporter, asking questions the publicist prepared with the chairman giving the prepared answers to the questions. Again, some stations run these video press releases as is, some edit and use what they want and some just file them.

But what's good for the corporation apparently is not good for the government, or at least the government of President Bush. While government agencies have been using the video press release for years, the liberals who are operating today's media outlets don't believe government agencies under President Bush should be putting out these video press releases and have pressured Congress to stop the practice.

The Associated Press, in its usual unbiased, fair and balanced manner, calls such video press releases "fake news." These video press releases were not termed "fake news" when they were released by government agencies during the Clinton administration, nor are they termed "fake news" when put out by corporations. That honor is reserved by the Associated Press for the video press releases put out by government agencies while President Bush is in office.

Reports the AP:

The Senate is putting the brakes on fake news.

In particular, lawmakers have passed a measure that would stop government agencies from using taxpayer money to disguise video press releases as real news.

Democrats call such videos propaganda.

Each television station receiving such video press releases are informed they are video press releases put out by the particular government agency and are free to edit or delete or to file the video press releases as they see fit. Because some broadcast stations have been running the government's video press releases without informing their viewers that it's a video press release from the government, it is somehow the fault of the Bush administration and some type of cabal or insidious propaganda plot by the Republicans.

So ... the senate voted 98-0 on an amendment proposed by Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia to force the government to stop producing video press releases that could appear like news reports. The amendment is being placed on an emergency funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan which means that if President Bush wants to continue reconstruction projects in Iraq and Afghanistan, he's forced to sign the bill.

In defending the practice of the video press release to the annual convention of the American Society of Newspaper Editors today, President Bush reminded the editors that it was up to them and their broadcaster counterparts to identify the source of the video press releases.

President Bush told the editors:

"(I)t's deceptive to the American people if it's not disclosed. And I ... have been told this has gone on for quite a while ... it's legal ... to use these video news clips. But it's incumbent upon people who use them to say, this news clip was produced by the federal government."

And that makes perfect sense to me. The fault is not in those who produce press releases but in those who fail to attribute the source of the information they use when it matters. It's too bad the U.S. Senate can't vote to force newspapers and broadcasters to hire brighter editors and producers. If the editors and news producers aren't identifying what information is coming from the government, just think of how much information contained in your newspaper and on your television station originates from corporations trying to sell products or organizations seeking to press a particular agenda.

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[UPDATE 4/15/2005: Surprise, Surprise! An organization with an agenda!: StartChange.org has taken personal credit for the movement to stop video press releases from the government under President Bush. It issued a press release, in fact, claiming that victory. And this is how the organization describes itself:

"StartChange.org is an advocacy group that works to ensure that companies play it fair, our press is truly free, and our politicians work genuinely in the public interest. StartChange.org is a successor to the StopSinclair campaign, a successful online effort joined by 152,000 people to prevent the Sinclair Broadcast Group from running an hour-long attack on John Kerry on TV stations across the country in October 2004. StartChange.org is a 501(c)(4) organization. StopFakeNews.org is a StartChange campaign."

As you might recall, the "hour-long attack on John Kerry" was a truthful documentary produced by the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth that the Democrats didn't want aired. Now we know where the AP got its use of "fake news" from. Obviously this is another example of free-speech the liberals didn't want to see aired and in which the mainstream media were fully complicit. The documentary can still be viewed at the Swift Vets web site.]

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More quotes from President Bush:

On an independent judiciary:

I think there are three distinct branches of government, and they ought to act independently and serve as checks and balances. I'm strongly for an independent judiciary. My focus with Congress on judges is that they're not approving enough of my judges in the United States Senate. And I think my judges ought to get an up or down vote, period. I think they ought to get a hearing, and I think they ought to get to the floor of the Senate, and I think they ought to deserve an up or down vote. But I'm strongly for an independent judiciary.

On the U.S. relationship with China and the price of fuel at the pump:

On trade, we're pressing China, for example, for floating her currency, so we can have free and fair trade with China. With human rights, we expect China to be a society that welcomes all religions. When it comes to foreign policy, we expect China to cooperate in the war on terror, and we expect there to be peace with Taiwan.

I mean, there is a lot to our relationship with China. My view of China is, is that it's a great nation that's growing like mad. And that's one of the reasons why Americans are seeing over $2 gasoline, is because demand for energy in China is huge, and supply around the world hasn't kept up with the increase in demand. That's why you're seeing crude go up, and crude is the feed stock for gasoline.

But we've got a very complex and a good relationship with China right now, and I intend to keep it that way. But I'm constantly reminding China that a great society is one that welcomes and honors human rights, for example; welcomes the Catholic Church in its midst; doesn't fear religious movements. As a matter of fact, a vibrant society is one that welcomes religious movements. But we've got good relations with China.

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Porn spam Easter egg of the day:

The real purpose of books is to trap the mind into doing its own thinking.