2005年NPR美国国家公共电台三月-The White House's Use of Video Releases

From NPR news, this is all things considered. I'm Michele Norris.And I'm Robert Siegel.

The White House has come under fire for federal agencies issuing what are called video news releases that promoted administration policies. Video news releases are produced to look like television news stories reported by journalists and they often do end up on the news. But some broadcasters have used them without saying that they are produced by the government. Critics charge the Bush administration is trying to control how the stories are covered from start to finish. NPR's David Folkenflik reports.

On screen, a ship is shown bobbing in the Gulf 1 of Mexico. Government researchers are pursuing a new source of energy there and a reporter says it could well make oil and coal obsolete 2.

"With so much attention on clean energy for a healthier environment, this research becomes even more vital. In Tampa, Pam Forrester reporting."

But Pam Forrester is no reporter. She is a public relations consultant 3 based in T. And that story, it was paid for by 2 government agencies, the US Geological Survey and the US Office of Naval 4 Research. The story was really a video news release offered to television stations throughout the country. Dandu Brace 5, the press secretary for the Interior Department which oversees 6 the US Geological Survey. He says this is another way to reach the public through the media, just like a printed news release.

"It is part of the overall toolbox of communications."

The form of energy extraction described in the video is somewhat controversial. But to hear Forrester's report, you never know that.

Rose Daro is a Democratic congresswoman from Connecticut. She says the government is right to spend money to inform the public, but she says many video releases go beyond that mission.

"What the administration is doing is taking advantage of these tax payer dollar in order to propagandize its proposals through the media."

The use of video news releases is nothing new. Under presidents Clinton and Bush, many videos have been informational about recalled children's toys with the West Nile virus, for example. Ari Fleischer was President Bush's press secretary from 2001 to 2003. He says video news releases help government officials who often find themselves at odds 8 with reporters.

"With the press saying everything is wrong, the government saying every thing is good. And so the government, Democrat 7 Republican alike, works hard to get out its story, believing the press won't cover it."

It's tough to say just how widespread the practice is. A request by NPR to the Defense 9 Department for information about its contracts with media and public relations firms yielded a list of 2,500. The social security administration, by contrast, told NPR it had no relevant documents for the past 4 years, not one. A federal watchdog agency called the Government Accountability Office found the Bush administration has twice broken the law with its video news releases.Gary Kepplinger is the deputy general counsel of the agency. He says the government must make it clear when it's paid for publicity 10 .
"The little shorthand term for it is covert 11 propaganda. These materials are being used methodically to disseminate 12 information without the source being identified."

But the Justice Department contradicted the GAO's findings and the White House ordered government agencies to ignore them. President Bush defended his administration's use of video news releases at a press conference last week.

"There is a Justice Department opinion that says these pieces are within the law so long as they're based upon facts not advocacy. And I expect our agencies to adhere to that ruling."

But congresswoman Daro sees the videos as part of a larger strategy to manipulate coverage 13. She points to disclosures that the administration paid several conservative columnists 14 to help promote its policies. And Daro was set off last year by this video release on Medicare which some television stations ran as a news story.

"The new laws say official simply offers people with Medicare ways to make their health coverage more affordable 15. In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."

Ryan is a public relations consultant who is paid with government funds.

Former Bush press secretary Ari Fleischer says there is nothing wrong with this kind of advocacy.

"I've tremendous faith in the public's ability to listen to it, to see through it and to decide what's right and what's wrong."

But Gary Kepplinger of the Government Accountability Office says the administration must clearly reveal its role .

"We think that the American tax payers are smart enough to realize what's going on and to evaluate the material if they know the source."

Last week, Mr.Bush said it's up to television stations that run the video news releases to tell viewers where they came from.

David Folkenflik, NPR news, Washington.