Inouye seeks
TV news release probe

WASHINGTON » A Senate Democrat influential on telecommunications issues has asked federal regulators to investigate whether any laws were broken by broadcasters who aired video news releases produced by the government.

Stations may have violated the law if they used the video releases without disclosing that the government was the source of the information, Sen. Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, wrote in a letter to the Federal Communications Commission.

The FCC should "take any remedial measures necessary to prevent station owners from misleading their viewers," said Inouye, adding that any lack of disclosure also represents "a serious breach of journalistic ethics."

Inouye, ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said the FCC should also scrutinize whether stations violated prohibitions against accepting "money, service or other valuable consideration for the airing of content."

The commission will "take the letter very seriously and will look into it," FCC spokesman David Fiske said yesterday. Generally, the FCC reviews letters and complaints before determining if there should be an investigation.

The White House has defended the video releases, which are distributed to television stations across the country. The videos are frequently used without any disclosure of the government's role in their production.

President Bush, at a news conference Wednesday, pointed to a Justice Department memo issued last week that concluded the practice was appropriate so long as the videos presented factual information about government programs.

"Now, I also think it would be helpful if local stations then disclosed to their viewers that this was based upon a factual report and they chose to use it," Bush said, "but evidently in some cases that's not the case."

The Justice guidelines conflicted with an opinion from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The videos could amount to illegal "covert propaganda" if stations did not clearly state the source of the information, the GAO said.

There has been increased scrutiny on government media practices since the revelation in January that columnists were paid to plug the administration's agenda and did not tell their audiences that they had received money. Bush, after the practice was disclosed, said it was wrong and ordered that it stop.

The FCC is investigating at least one of those cases, involving commentator Armstrong Williams and his deal with the Education Department to promote the No Child Left Behind Act.