Yesterday, I noted that Sens. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) and John Kerry (D-Mass.) have introduced the Truth in Broadcasting Act, which would require “prepackaged news stories” produced by the administration contain disclose the source of the material forever more.
And while we wait for the legislation to work its way through the Senate Commerce Committee, you’ll be pleased to know the Senate embraced the bill’s principles yesterday, barring Bush from crafting undisclosed fake-news segments for the next year.
Congressional negotiators have agreed to bar government agencies for one year from issuing video news releases that do not clearly identify themselves as the source, Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd said on Tuesday.
Senate and House negotiators agreed to include the measure in an emergency spending bill banning the use of taxpayer dollars for producing the releases, which often resemble news segments, unless they include a written or audible notice.
“It is simply not right for administration departments and agencies to try to snooker the American people, producing propaganda and passing it off as legitimate news,” the West Virginia lawmaker said in a statement.
Kudos to Byrd for pushing this through the emergency supplemental bill, where it was less likely to draw complaints.
The Lautenberg-Kerry bill is still needed — the administration will no doubt want to go back to the old model a year from now — but this is an encouraging start.