Video News Release Broadcast (VNRB)
A video news release Broadcast (VNRB) is a video segment created by a PR
firm, advertising agency, marketing firm, corporation, or government agency and
provided to television news stations for the purpose of informing, shaping
public opinion, or to promote and publicize individuals, commercial products and
services, or other interests. In this way, VNRs are video versions of press
releases.
News reports may incorporate a VNR in whole or part if the news producer feels
it contains information appropriate to the story or of interest to viewers.
Critics of VNRs have called the practice deceptive or a propaganda technique,
particularly in cases in which the segment is not explicitly identified to the
viewers as a VNR. Firms producing VNRs disagree and equate their use to a press
release in video form. The United States Federal Communications Commission is
currently investigating the practice of VNRs.
Details
A few VNRs will feature a paid actor playing the role of news correspondent but
most do not. VNRs also often include interviews with experts (who often have
legitimate, if biased, expertise); so called "man on the street" interviews with
"average" people; and pictures of celebrities, products, service demonstrations,
corporate logos and the like, where applicable. In some cases the "man on the
street" segments feature persons randomly selected and interviewed
spontaneously, and in other cases actors are hired and directed by VNR producers
to deliver carefully scripted comments. In addition, regardless of whether real
people or professional actors appear, VNR producers and directors, just like
journalists, have complete discretion to excerpt and edit these "interviews"
into 'sound bites' that help make the point they are trying to make.
Media broadcasting of VNRs
Commercial television stations and other media outlets often broadcast only
portions of a VNR. Sometimes they use the script provided by the VNR producer
but frequently they write their own script.
In a report released on April 6, 2006, the Center for Media and Democracy listed
detailed information on 77 television stations that it said had broadcast VNRs
in the prior 10 months, and which VNRs had been broadcast. Most of these VNR
uses were of partial feeds. However, CMD said that in each case the television
station actively disguised the VNR content to make it appear to be its own
reporting, and that more than one-third of the time, stations aired the
pre-packaged VNR in its entirety.
