News propaganda
Encyclopedia
News propaganda is a type of propaganda
covertly packaged as credible news
, but without sufficient transparency
concerning the news item's source and the motivation behind its release. Transparency of the source is one parameter critical to distinguish between news propaganda and traditional news press releases and video news release
s.
As with any propaganda, news propaganda may be spread for widely different reasons including governance
, political
or ideological
motivations, partisan
agendas, religious
or ethnic reasons, and commercial
or business
motivations; their purposes are not always clear. News propaganda also can be motivated by national security
reasons, especially in times of war or domestic upheaval.
, which spent £340m on propaganda activities in the UK alone in 2001 http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1709950,00.html, previously funded British Satellite News, a free television news and feature service. Production of British Satellite News ceased in September 2009.
The Foreign Office is also the primary funder of the BBC World Service
, but as part of the BBC
it has complete editorial and managerial independence.
, according to a report by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Barstow
in The New York Times
, the George W. Bush administration
has been increasingly criticized for the aggressive use of a tool typical of public relations
: previously prepared, ready-to-serve news that big corporations regularly distribute to TV stations in order to sell products or services. What is referred to by the report as propaganda
is usually distributed through the use of a Video news release
(or VNR).
A New York Times editorial (March 16, 2005) entitled "And now, the counterfeit news" affirms that at least 20 U.S. federal agencies, like the Department of Defense
and the U.S. Census Bureau
, produced and distributed hundreds of TV news reports since 2001 that were aired as if they were produced by the media
. The same report says that this practice was also utilized by the Clinton
Administration. Another report http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/21909/ details the use of this practice by the United States Department of Agriculture
.
, the media openly played a protecting role towards the government. Mainly the news program of Mega Channel
has been criticised by many other media as well as political parties as playing a role as part of the government propaganda in favour of the International Monetary Fund
.
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
covertly packaged as credible news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
, but without sufficient transparency
Transparency (humanities)
Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed...
concerning the news item's source and the motivation behind its release. Transparency of the source is one parameter critical to distinguish between news propaganda and traditional news press releases and video news release
Video news release
A video news release is a video segment made to look like a news report, but is instead created by a PR firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, or government agency. They are provided to television newsrooms to shape public opinion, promote commercial products and services,...
s.
As with any propaganda, news propaganda may be spread for widely different reasons including governance
Governance
Governance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
, political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
or ideological
Ideology
An ideology is a set of ideas that constitutes one's goals, expectations, and actions. An ideology can be thought of as a comprehensive vision, as a way of looking at things , as in common sense and several philosophical tendencies , or a set of ideas proposed by the dominant class of a society to...
motivations, partisan
Political party
A political party is a political organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office. Parties participate in electoral campaigns, educational outreach or protest actions...
agendas, religious
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
or ethnic reasons, and commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
or business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
motivations; their purposes are not always clear. News propaganda also can be motivated by national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
reasons, especially in times of war or domestic upheaval.
Government produced "news"
The UK Foreign OfficeForeign and Commonwealth Office
The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, commonly called the Foreign Office or the FCO is a British government department responsible for promoting the interests of the United Kingdom overseas, created in 1968 by merging the Foreign Office and the Commonwealth Office.The head of the FCO is the...
, which spent £340m on propaganda activities in the UK alone in 2001 http://www.guardian.co.uk/comment/story/0,,1709950,00.html, previously funded British Satellite News, a free television news and feature service. Production of British Satellite News ceased in September 2009.
The Foreign Office is also the primary funder of the BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
, but as part of the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
it has complete editorial and managerial independence.
Government produced "news"
In the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, according to a report by Pulitzer-prize winning journalist David Barstow
David Barstow
-Life:Born in Boston, he received a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 1986. Barstow has worked for The New York Times since 1999, and has been an investigative reporter there since 2002.He worked for The St...
in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, the George W. Bush administration
George W. Bush administration
The presidency of George W. Bush began on January 20, 2001, when he was inaugurated as the 43rd President of the United States of America. The oldest son of former president George H. W. Bush, George W...
has been increasingly criticized for the aggressive use of a tool typical of public relations
Public relations
Public relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
: previously prepared, ready-to-serve news that big corporations regularly distribute to TV stations in order to sell products or services. What is referred to by the report as propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
is usually distributed through the use of a Video news release
Video news release
A video news release is a video segment made to look like a news report, but is instead created by a PR firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, or government agency. They are provided to television newsrooms to shape public opinion, promote commercial products and services,...
(or VNR).
A New York Times editorial (March 16, 2005) entitled "And now, the counterfeit news" affirms that at least 20 U.S. federal agencies, like the Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
and the U.S. Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, produced and distributed hundreds of TV news reports since 2001 that were aired as if they were produced by the media
News media
The news media are those elements of the mass media that focus on delivering news to the general public or a target public.These include print media , broadcast news , and more recently the Internet .-Etymology:A medium is a carrier of something...
. The same report says that this practice was also utilized by the Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
Administration. Another report http://www.alternet.org/envirohealth/21909/ details the use of this practice by the United States Department of Agriculture
United States Department of Agriculture
The United States Department of Agriculture is the United States federal executive department responsible for developing and executing U.S. federal government policy on farming, agriculture, and food...
.
Greece
During the 2010 financial crisis in GreeceGreece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
, the media openly played a protecting role towards the government. Mainly the news program of Mega Channel
Mega Channel
Mega Channel, also known as Mega TV or just Mega, is a major television network in Greece. Teletypos S.A. was founded in 1989 under the name Teletypos Television Programmes S.A...
has been criticised by many other media as well as political parties as playing a role as part of the government propaganda in favour of the International Monetary Fund
International Monetary Fund
The International Monetary Fund is an organization of 187 countries, working to foster global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, facilitate international trade, promote high employment and sustainable economic growth, and reduce poverty around the world...
.
See also
- Bush administration payment of columnistsBush administration payment of columnistsThe Bush administration payment of columnists refers to the payment of public funds to right-wing media commentators by several U.S. executive departments under Cabinet officials to promote various policies of U.S. President George W. Bush's administration...
- Freedom of the PressFreedom of the pressFreedom of the press or freedom of the media is the freedom of communication and expression through vehicles including various electronic media and published materials...
- InfogandaInfogandaInfoganda is a term describing dramatic or literary work that contains both elements of an infomercial and propaganda. The term has been sporadically used in both the popular media and in blogs since 2001.-Definition:...
- JournalismJournalismJournalism is the practice of investigation and reporting of events, issues and trends to a broad audience in a timely fashion. Though there are many variations of journalism, the ideal is to inform the intended audience. Along with covering organizations and institutions such as government and...
- Journalism ethics and standardsJournalism ethics and standardsJournalism ethics and standards comprise principles of ethics and of good practice as applicable to the specific challenges faced by journalists. Historically and currently, this subset of media ethics is widely known to journalists as their professional "code of ethics" or the "canons of journalism"...
- Journalism scandalsJournalism scandalsJournalism scandals are high-profile incidents or acts, whether intentional or accidental, that run contrary to the generally accepted ethics and standards of journalism, or otherwise violate the 'ideal' mission of journalism: to report news events and issues accurately and fairly.-Journalistic...
- List of topics related to public relations and propaganda
- Managing the newsManaging the newsManaging the news refers to acts that are intended to influence the presentation of information within the news media. The expression managing the news is often used in a negative sense. For example, people or organizations that wish to lessen the publicity concerning bad news may choose to release...
- Mass mediaMass mediaMass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
- News satireNews satirethumb|right|220px|[[The Daily Show with Jon Stewart]] is a news satire program.News satire, also called fake news , is a type of parody presented in a format typical of mainstream journalism, and called a satire because of its content...
- Propaganda modelPropaganda modelThe propaganda model is a conceptual model in political economy advanced by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky that states how propaganda, including systemic biases, function in mass media...
- Public relationsPublic relationsPublic relations is the actions of a corporation, store, government, individual, etc., in promoting goodwill between itself and the public, the community, employees, customers, etc....
- Video news releaseVideo news releaseA video news release is a video segment made to look like a news report, but is instead created by a PR firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, or government agency. They are provided to television newsrooms to shape public opinion, promote commercial products and services,...
- William L. LaurenceWilliam L. LaurenceWilliam Leonard Laurence was a Jewish Lithuanian born American journalist known for his science journalism writing of the 1940s and 1950s while working for the New York Times...
Sources
- The Guardian David Miller: "The propaganda we pass off as news around the world" February 15, 2006
- New York Times editorial: And now, the counterfeit news - March 16, 2005, by David Barstow and Robin Stein.
Further reference
- Journalists challenge license of Fox TV in Tampa on evidence of false and distorted news reports - from Mindfully.org. Journalists Jane Akre and Steve Wilson vs. WTVT Fox-13 in Tampa. Jan 3, 2005.
- Florida station facing consequences for not airing complete BGH story - from NewFarm.org.
- Military news programs secure a public outlet - published on March 9, 2005, by the St. Petersburg Times. Tampa Bay Area Government-access television (GATV) channels Air Defense Department programming that also goes to military bases and features anchors in uniform.
- The Boston Globe – Patricia Smith’s virtual reality - article by TransparencyNow.com.
- Drug Control Office faulted for issuing fake news tapes - published on Jan 7, 2005, by The Washington Post, written by Ceci Connolly.
- How to write distorted news – NY Times vs. Washington Post - from Rasmusen Weblog. July 22, 2004.
- Fake news, fake reporter - by Eric Boehlert (Salon.com). Feb. 10, 2005.
- Wanted : 250,000 Americans to fight fake news and government propaganda - from the Center for Media and Democracy, publishers of PRWatch.org.
- sniggle.net: News Trolls - brief descriptions of historical examples of fake news items originating both inside and outside the newsroom
- Press release about the Federal Propaganda Prohibition Act of 2005, legislation proposed by Congresswoman Rosa DeLauroRosa DeLauroRosa L. DeLauro is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1991. She is a member of the Democratic Party.The district is based in New Haven, and includes most of that city's suburbs.-Early life, education and career:...
Media watchdog organizations
- Accuracy in Media watchdog group with a self-proclaimed Conservative bias
- DemocracyNow.org
- FAIR.org - Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting; Media watchdog group with a self-proclaimed Liberal bias
- MediaChannel.org affiliates - A list of over 1,100 Internet communities around the world focused on media issues.
- Media Matters for AmericaMedia Matters for AmericaMedia Matters for America is a politically progressive media watchdog group which says it is "dedicated to comprehensively monitoring, analyzing, and correcting conservative misinformation in the U.S. media." Set up as a 501 non-profit organization, MMfA was founded in 2004 by journalist and...
- Media watchdog group founded by David BrockDavid BrockDavid Brock is an American journalist and author, the founder of the media watchdog group, Media Matters for America, and a Democratic political operative... - MediaWatch.com - 20 years of activism
- PR Watch.org - published by the Center for Media and DemocracyCenter for Media and DemocracyThe Center for Media and Democracy is a non-profit investigative reporting group. The CMD gives analysis and opinion on policies such as the economy, environment and national security...
- SpinWatch monitoring PR and spin
- Transparency Now : Media criticism and news ethics
Movies with related themes
- Wag the Dog (1997)
- The Insider (1999)
- The Power of NightmaresThe Power of NightmaresThe Power of Nightmares, subtitled The Rise of the Politics of Fear, is a BBC documentary film series, written and produced by Adam Curtis. Its three one-hour parts consist mostly of a montage of archive footage with Curtis's narration...