20070924 AP: FCC Proposes Fine Against Comcast for ‘Fake News’ Report

AP: FCC Proposes Fine Against Comcast for 'Fake News' Report

Monday, September 24, 2007

Now this is certainly an interesting development. One could argue that if the FCC were to aggressively pursue “fake news” in the mainstream media it could provide an incredible source of income for the U. S. coffers… And yes, the irony that AP reported the story was noticed. Remember AP does not cite blog sites or bloggers...

WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission is proposing a $4,000 fine against Comcast Corp. for airing a pitch for a sleep aid without telling viewers that the spot was financed by the maker of the product.

The fine was in response to a complaint by the Center for Media and Democracy, a media watchdog group, which said it marks the first time a company has been sanctioned for airing a "video news release," a type of programming it dubs "fake news."

A video news release is a sponsored public relations video that mimics actual news reports. Such programs are common in broadcasting and are usually offered to news shows for free.

The fine, while small, is significant for another reason: It is being assessed against a cable company. Comcast Corp. says cable programming is not covered under the statute cited by the FCC.

The company released a statement saying it was "perplexed" by the action and that even if it were subject to FCC jurisdiction, the segment still shouldn't have been subject to sanction.

[…]

Read more: AP: FCC Proposes Fine Against Comcast for 'Fake News' Report