Justice Says Government Video News Releases are OK

There's a tempest in a teapot going on in Washington over video news releases that don't reveal government participation in their creation. The GAO says they amount to "covert propaganda." The Justice Department a few days ago disagreed. "The prohibition [against propaganda] does not apply where there is no advocacy of a particular viewpoint" according to a memo Justice sent to other departments. This is an easy problem to solve, and most of it isn't for the government to undertake.

"Propaganda" conjures up images of Nazi and Communist films showing happy peasants resisting whatever group is determined to be a threat to the state. The twisting of the truth to fit a political agenda in the extreme. But, as one gets less extreme, the distinction between fact and propaganda is an editorial one. Fox News may claim to be balanced, but it is overtly a right-wing entity advancing a reactionary agenda. PBS is little different except that it is leftish. The facts are largely the same but the interpretation and emphasis differ. And a free press should have divergent editorial perspectives.

Where rabid guardians of a free media get nervous is when government resources and spokespeople actively produce journals and broadcasts. There is a difference when the government sanctions a viewpoint. For that reason, the constitution forbids the establishment of a national religion. At the same time, government is the best source for information about what government does.

And so, both sides have a certain degree of truth in their argument. The world is usually not black and white, and this is a pretty grey area. However, the solution is simple enough. When government sources are used, the public needs to be told. NBC is good about telling the world it is owned by GM when it does stories on GM, and Fox will let the world know of its ties to the rest of the Murdoch empire when reportage touches on it. Maybe the solution lies with the media to merely state, "we go this from Uncle Sam."

The government could, of course, help, by putting a small label in the lower right corner, the way every cable network does, just announcing the material's provenance. It doesn't cost much, and it would clear things up. Now, the interesting question will arise when the press still doesn't reveal it's using government-provided video and when the little label doesn't appear in the corner in a few months' time. Then, it will be clear that there is wool being pulled over eyes.


© Copyright 2005 by The Kensington Review, J. Myhre, Editor. No part of this publication may be reproduced without written consent.
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