Oh, Shit, We're Busted! Film At 11!

You may remember my ranting a while back about VNRs on Xeno's Paradox.



For those of you who don't, a VNR (Video News Release) is what I like to call "fake news." It's a video segment produced by the government / a big company / someone with something to spin containing actors pretending to be real reporters, which is given for free to the TV stations, who then air it uncut, and unedited, in fact often without even telling you that it's not news, but in fact propaganda.



Those of you who DO remember might also remember me saying on here that as many as 77 stations had been caught doing this.



Well, the bill appears to be coming due for those stations; the FCC is getting into the act, sending letters of inquiry to the owners of all 77 offending stations known so far to be using VNRs without disclosure.



You may not have known this, but there's actually a rule that says that when a station airs a VNR, they are required to disclose what it is, who made it, and who paid for it to the viewer.



And they're breaking it. And the FCC is pissed. REALLY, REALLY pissed - they're threatening license revocations unless the stations provide proof that they haven't violated the rules vis - a - vis VNRs.



Excuse me while I go laugh myself sick.