Fake News

Perhaps it is the aging process but I find myself becoming more aware of little white (or perhaps grey) lies creeping into TV commercials.  My main gripe relates to commercials masking as news.  I’m not talking about those late night 30 minute infomercials where a studio audience is videotaped as they are mesmerized by a digital juice maker or turbo-charged vacuum cleaner that can suck the air out of the Goodyear Blimp.  Those TV shows are blatant and anyone thinking they are watching a real objective news show may have had that vacuum connected to their brain.

The ones that get my attention and ire are the commercials running adjacent to local news shows.  I am sure you have seen them.  One is set up as a news interview with a “host” and “guest” seated in chairs. They are in a “serious” discussion about the increased number of home break-ins and how people are “really worried.”  The “guest” thanks the “host” for inviting him and goes on to make a one-time offer to install a security system.  He goes on to discuss how he wants everyone to feel safe.

Another spot running often is for a new ointment that will make you look younger instantaneously.  The spot begins with a young lady standing on a news set.  She begins with the line, “Welcome back…” as to infer that we are now back to the news reports.

Then there is the guy who wants you to be among the first 50 callers in the next 30 minutes.  There is a little count-down clock on the screen and the spots run three or four times within the news show.  The guy even remarks that he is getting lots of calls.  How someone who is on videotape knows that calls are coming in is truly remarkable.

I remember when I was on TV doing pitches for public TV and the phones were not ringing.  Some of the crew suggested that we insert taped phone rings in order to add excitement.  We never did since we were live and we wanted to tell the truth.  The same held true during the annual auction.  If the phones did not ring, so be it.

It is bad enough that the local and national news shows often plug some upcoming entertainment special that will be on the station later that evening.  The fake roof fixers, walk-in tub installers and alarm salesmen posing as news reporters are just wrong. Just how wrong is it?  Here is what the FCC Rules require.

§ 73.1208Broadcast of taped, filmed, or recorded material.(a) Any taped, filmed or recorded program material in which time is of special significance, or by which an affirmative attempt is made to create the impression that it is occurring simultaneously with the broadcast, shall be announced at the beginning as taped, filmed or recorded. The language of the announcement shall be clear and in terms commonly understood by the public. For television stations, the announcement may be made visually or aurally.

Seeing Not Always Believing

The posting of videos on YouTube and other video sharing sites is nothing new.  For several years, videos ranging from the serious to the proverbial cute cat movies have been available on line.  More recently, on line video sharing has become a tool of disseminating news, political discourse, and propaganda.  Many political scientists maintain that the recent Arab Spring movement was made possible in large part by the effective use of social media using online video.

Up until very recently, these videos were recorded and uploaded to the internet for watching on a delayed basis in non-real time.  The number of people viewing over time often counted into the millions.  For sure the videos have been effective, but there is nothing quite like live TV—nothing like seeing and often being a part of what is happening right now.

The newest generation of technologies takes online video to another level.  There are now several services that provide inexpensive live streaming to a worldwide audience.  Once the province only of well financed major news operations, live distribution of TV required expensive satellite equipment, complicated gear, and highly skilled technicians.

Today, a mobile phone with a camera, an internet connection, and a subscription to a streaming service can allow most anyone to broadcast a live event to a worldwide audience.

In some cases, this technology is bypassing traditional TV networks.  For example, the recent LumenoCity Concerts (presented by the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from Washington Park in Cincinnati) were streamed live to anyone with a computer, iPad, or smartphone.  There was no need for a traditional TV channel.

Perhaps some of the most dramatic and revolutionary use of live streaming comes from the violent conflicts in the middle-east and Ukraine.  There has been a steady stream of live video feeds coming from well organized government factions as well as from private citizen journalists.

As we watch this coverage, we might find the adage “seeing is believing” may not be quite as true as we’d like to believe.  While this new high-tech live video coverage might well give a real time look at what is going on, it is important to remember that these views often are being provided by biased reporters or even agents of the government or political faction.  A camera might focus on a small portion of a demonstration or battle and give a false impression of what is actually going on.  With greater access to live streaming should come greater scepticism of what is broadcast.  We need always ask what it is that we are not seeing.