Here’s another good reason to avoid using a Video News Release (VNR) without proper attribution: You could be fined!
According to the Hollywood Reporter, for the first time ever, the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau is calling for a $4,000 fine against Comcast for showing a VNR without telling viewers they got paid for it.
Comcast says that airing parts of a VNR for a homeopathic sleeping aid within a newscast does not violate FCC rules. A spokesperson for the company says cable programming is not covered by the relevant statue and that Comcast did not receive “consideration or benefit by using the material.”
In another development involving the FCC, Broadcasting & Cable reports that three members of Congress are calling for the FCC to create a minority media-ownership task force.
House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) is quoted as stating, “It is unacceptable for the FCC to move ahead with plans to allow for more media consolidation without first addressing how to increase minority ownership.”
3 comments for “FCC News: VNR fines and minority media-ownership”