COMPLAINT FILED IN BUSH PRE-PACKAGED PROPAGANDA BATTLE - Broadcasting & Cable: The Business of Television

Broadcasting & Cable: The Business of Television:

"Two media activist groups Monday filed a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission asking the agency to investigate broadcasters that air government-produced news reports without identifying their source.

The complaint was filed amid ongoing controversy over the Bush administration's use of prepackaged video-news releases to promote the White House's public-policy agenda.

The releases sometimes feature government spokespeople posing as TV reporters that stations can use as canned footage for their news reports. Critics say the practice misleads viewers because they are under the impression the information is being delivered by an objective reporter rather than a paid government official."