Informed Citizens Versus Informed Consumers

By Douglas Simon, President & CEO, D S Simon Productions

Editor’s note: The Public Relations industry plays a crucial role in the image of a company. However, government intervention may threaten the public relation industry’s ability to do its job effectively.

The duty of newscasts is to keep citizens as informed as possible, as the government attempts to protect the information citizens receive.

Historically, FCC regulations have not been as enforced with Spanish language broadcasts as they are with English. Some marketers have taken advantage of the naïveté of some recent Hispanic immigrants, more likely to be “new consumers,” when airing products that claim unproven results.

Interacción poses the following question: How do we strike a compromise between the image building role of PR and our responsibility of informing citizens?

Readers are invited to share their thoughts concerning this business ethics question to hmca@hmca.org.

Will Government Intervention Tune Out PR?

By Douglas Simon

The controversy surrounding television stations use of video and audio news releases and third-party spokespeople has mostly focused on English language broadcasters. But new laws considered by Congress and FCC regulations for broadcasters and cable stations focus equally on Spanish language newscasts. These could mean significant changes in how you get your story on television; whether you offer a station a video news release (VNR) or a spokesperson interview.

It started with questions surrounding the Bush Administration’s use of video news releases and paying broadcasters to report favorably on administration policies. The Government has passed the Byrd Amendment requiring there be disclosure of government funding on any VNR the Government produces between now and September 30th and is considering making it permanent. I testified at the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on the Lautenberg-Kerry “Truth In Broadcasting Act” that would have placed more onerous limits on broadcasters requiring them to air an FCC designed disclosure graphic during news reports if it used Government VNRs.  Fortunately, action on this bill was delayed after the hearing.

Despite the setback for this legislation, the farfetched idea of government regulating public relations inched closer to reality with the FCC’s Public Notice on sponsorship identification rules issued on April 13th, 2005.  While the title of the notice seemed to indicate it was only about use of video news releases, a closer look indicated a broader agenda. The notice includes the following requirements on news programs to inform viewers “where an entity makes contact with a station or cable system on behalf of another…the (station’s) announcement should disclose the person, persons or entity on whose behalf the agent is acting.” It seems stations might be required to tell viewers if they even had a short conversation with a public relations person and face fines if they don’t.

On June 15th, the FCC issued a new fact sheet on Payola rules. FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein said “We are enlisting everyone who watches and listens to the media in the effort to catch violations of our payola rules. Broadcasters and cable operators really need to take these rules seriously.  There are major penalties involved that can include up to a year in jail.  But even beyond the penalties, it is the longstanding policy of this country that the American people have a right to know who is promoting a product, policy or message to them.”

Broadcasters React

D S Simon Productions contacted producers and reporters of Spanish Newscasts to determine how the controversy was affecting them and found wide differences. We asked if they had seen the newspaper articles questioning the use of Government VNRs and whether anyone at their station had discussed new policies with them. Among the most interesting findings were at stations with both Spanish and English newscasts. At a CBS affiliate, a producer for the English broadcast was told not to use VNRs by the News Director. However, the Anchor and Producer of the Spanish Newscast at the same station told us she is unaware of the controversy surrounding VNRs and it’s something her station, a CBS affiliate doing mostly English news, has not mentioned to her in regards to the Spanish Newscast.   

Most other Spanish language reporters surveyed were also unaware of the controversy with the exception of one producer who worked at an NBC owned Telemundo affiliate. His station was up to speed on the new guidelines.  These guidelines issued by the Radio-Television News Directors Association (RTNDA), the largest organization representing local and network news executives, do not differentiate between English and Spanish newscasts. They raise the bar on when stations should use outside material and how this should be disclosed to viewers.

Hispanic Community Leaders are Concerned

Diana Gonzales Worthen is the president of Arkansas’ Hispanic Women’s Organization and has worked nationwide and statewide to address issues affecting growing Hispanic immigrant populations.  She says VNRs are helpful to Spanish news outlets and therefore important to Hispanic Communities.  

Gonzales Worthen says she supports anything that helps Spanish news, “I am in favor of using VNRs, especially when trying to reach Spanish language audiences in emerging communities.  Many stations may not have the personnel or staff to include news in Spanish.”  

David Castillo, the President of the Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, and the first Hispanic official elected in the state of Oklahoma, agrees with Gonzales Worthen. “I do feel that it is important to get information out in Spanish as well as in English,” says Castillo.  “With the booming Hispanic population throughout the country I know that Hispanics are hungry for information, and if they can have it in their own language, even better.”

What Can PR People Do?

If you are considering a broadcast campaign, there are steps you can take to maximize your chances for success in this changing environment.

• Raise the news value of the stories you are offering stations.
• Be realistic about how commercial you can be and still get your story on television.
• Don’t treat all stations the same. For a satellite media tour, be willing to be less commercial on larger outlets in order to get your story placed.
• For VNRs, include plenty of extra sound bites and B-Roll giving stations the flexibility of different options on how they can air your story.
• Fully disclose the original funding source for any video you provide stations.
• Fully disclose relationships between spokespeople and the client in your releases, alerts and pitch materials.
• Offer stations local angles to cover the story.

Most importantly, recognizing the changing environment will allow you to help broadcasters help you serve your client’s interests.

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The author, Douglas Simon, President & CEO at D S Simon Productions, has been producing Spanish language VNRs and SMTs since 1994. Contributing to this article was Sylvan Solloway, who launched, anchored and produced Noticias Cinco, Arkansas’ first Spanish Newscast before moving to D S Simon Productions as a VNR producer