Ethics Newsline®

Agency also says it might toughen requirements on disclosure and could expand regulation to require broadcast news organizations to inform viewers when using ‘video news releases’ from third parties

WASHINGTON
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last week indicated that it may crack down on the use of props on popular television shows when those items — such as cookies, soft drinks, and sneakers — are really paid pitches.

FCC chairman Kevin Martin told the Washington Post that so-called product placement has increased in recent years, primarily as a result of viewers using digital recording devices to fast-forward through standard commercials.

The ethics issue now surfacing, reports the San Francisco Chronicle, is the recent trend among TV producers to manipulate plot lines in order to accommodate profitable prop products.

“This often subtle but always insidious blurring of the line between content and commerce is an issue not just for the creative community but for the American viewing public as well,” said Writer’s Guild member Philip Rosenthal, creator and executive producer of “Everybody Loves Raymond,” during testimony before Congress on the topic last year, according to a report from ABC News.

While there are requirements that certain product placements be disclosed on broadcast TV shows, the FCC may require more large-print notifications to be displayed for longer period. The agency also is pondering extending product-placement notification regulations to cable TV, feature films, and children’s TV, according to the industry trade journal Broadcasting and Cable.

In addition, the FCC is looking at tougher regulations that would require “video news releases” — segments prepared by companies, organizations, and the government, which are aired by TV news organizations often without disclosure — be labeled on-air, reports Broadcasting and Cable.

Sources: Washington Post, June 27 — ABC News, June 27 — San Francisco Chronicle, June 27 — Broadcasting and Cable, June 26.

For more information, see: Related Newsline story, June 16 — Related Newsline story, May 27 — Related Newsline story, May 19 — Related Newsline story, Mar. 21, 2005 — Related Newsline story, May 24, 2004.