Groups Criticize CBS News for Deliberate Falsification of News Images

[Gary Ruskin]

Commercial Alert				January 12, 2000

The New York Times reported today that CBS News has deliberately
falsified news images by inserting virtual ads into its newscasts.
Commercial Alert and TV-Free America today called CBS News
"fundamentally untrustworthy," urged its viewers to get their news
elsewhere, and demanded that it stop using virtual ads. 

The New York Times article is available at
<http://www.nytimes.com/yr/mo/day/news/financial/cbs-digital.html>

We urge people to complain to CBS News President Andrew Heyward at (212)
975-2730, or send email to CBS News Executive Vice President Jonathan
Klein at <jck@cbsnews.com>.

Following is a news release from Commercial Alert and TV-Free America.

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release:			For More Information Contact:
Wednesday, January 12, 2000		Gary Ruskin (202) 296-2787
					Frank Vespe (202) 887-0436

Groups Criticize CBS News for Deliberate Falsification of News Images

	Following a New York Times article documenting how CBS News has
repeatedly inserted virtual advertisements into its newscasts,
Commercial Alert and TV-Free America today called CBS News
"fundamentally untrustworthy, " urged its viewers to get their news
elsewhere, preferably from print sources, and demanded that it stop
using virtual ads.

	According to today's New York Times, the virtual billboard technology,
designed by Princeton Video Image, which is used to insert advertising,
"has been used regularly on ‘The Early Show' and the news magazine ‘48
Hours' and was used on the Evening News on Dec. 30 and 31, according to
CBS news executives."

	"CBS News crossed an important line by deliberately tampering with the
content of news footage," said Gary Ruskin, Director of Commercial
Alert, which opposes the excesses of advertising, marketing and
commercialism. "It's obvious that you can't trust what you see on CBS
News."

	"These virtual billboards demonstrate that nothing -- not even reality
itself -- is safe from creeping commercialism," said Frank Vespe,
Executive Director of TV-Free America.  "Far from being a simple
production technique, virtual billboards alter the actual content of the
news.  We will never again be certain that so-called live footage shows
the real world or an advertising fantasy land."

	"Journalism relies on the trustworthiness of journalists and news
outlets," Ruskin said.  "CBS News has violated any reasonable standard
of trust, and they are going to have to think long and hard about how to
get it back.  At a minimum, to regain public trust, they must agree to
never intentionally falsify news footage again."

	"CBS' New Year's Eve broadcast marks a red letter day in news history:
the day in which television news completely renounced any obligation to
viewers to show the world as it really is," Vespe said.  "If there was
any remaining question, it is now clear that television news is no more
serious or realistic than sitcoms or science fiction shows.  All of them
are about one thing and one thing only: generating maximum ad revenues."

 	"This is just the latest example of how aggressive commercialism
wrecks the newsroom," Ruskin said.

	"News which can be altered at will to serve the networks' interest
stops being news and becomes simply another sitcom with different
characters," Vespe said.  "How could anyone ever take it seriously
again?"
-30-

<-----------------news release ends here----------------->

Commercial Alert opposes the excesses of advertising, marketing and
commercialism.  See <http://www.essential.org/alert/> for more
information. The web address for TV-Free America is
<http://www.tvfa.org>.

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Gary Ruskin | Commercial Alert 
1611 Connecticut Ave. NW Suite #3A | Washington, DC 20009
Phone: (202) 296-2787 | Fax (202) 833-2406
http://www.essential.org/alert/ | mailto:gary@essential.org
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