Free Press raises flag over "corporate propaganda"

Free Press wrote the Federal Communications Commission to decry the use of undisclosed commercials on television news programs, a practice they claim is increasingly prevalent.

Free Press policy counsel Corie Wright cited a series of stores by the Los Angeles Times as evidence local TV stations are airing paid advertising under the guise of news in violation of the law. Wright pointed specifically to segments aired on KCBS 2 Los Angeles that were labeled "CBS Healthwatch" but were actually paid advertisements for a local medical center. "The problem of pay-to-play news is becoming an epidemic on the public airwaves," Wright said. "People rely on the news to make major decisions about their lives - including where to seek medical treatment or how to vote. They deserve to know when a newscast has been influenced by commercial considerations." Wright also pointed to an LATimes report regarding a lawyer and self-proclaimed "toy expert" named Elizabeth Werner, who was paid by toy companies to promote their products on local newscasts. Wright said viewers deserve to know when so-called experts are paid to promote the products they tout.