Video press releases, also known as B-roll or fake news, are pre-packaged public service announcements provided to local media outlets for broadcast. They are controversial as they can be mistaken for authentic news footage and often include payment for airtime. They are used by various industries, including pharmaceutical companies, car manufacturers, and government agencies, to promote new products or programs. The controversy centers on presenting the material as legitimate news, and the lack of disclosure regarding the source of the footage can confuse viewers.
A video press release (VNR), also known as a B-roll or fake news, is a carefully edited and packaged form of public service announcement provided to local media outlets for broadcast. In theory, the content of a video press release should not be confused with authentic news footage, but in reality, many media outlets do not issue a disclaimer regarding the source of the VNR footage. This practice has become very controversial in recent years, as the producers of many video news packages also include some form of payment for airtime.
A typical video press release is produced as real news, with a professional interviewer or anchor, expert guests, charts, graphs and even ‘man in the street’ quotes and testimonials. However, the interviewer in a video press release can be a professional actor, or the experts can work for the company producing the video press release or the manufacturer of the product itself. Even if a video press release uses only unaffiliated experts or objective reporters, the fact that a specific company or agency pays for the production of the VNR often creates an objectivity concern.
One of the first industries to use the video press release was pharmaceutical companies. Rather than holding a press conference to announce a new drug treatment, a pharmaceutical company might decide to produce a video press release containing its own trial footage, expert opinions, and patient and physician testimonials. This footage is then packaged as a legitimate news item and sent to individual television stations. Station management can choose to display the entire press release on video, use edited portions to reinforce an automatically generated story, or electronically insert a local reporter as the ‘interviewer.
In addition to the pharmaceutical industry, several other industries use video press releases to announce or promote a new product line. All car manufacturers, publishing companies and fitness equipment companies produce VNRs for self-promotion. Even nonprofit government agencies use video press releases to provide footage of a new program in action or to raise public awareness of an upcoming issue. Use of these images by individual stations is perfectly legitimate, provided the station identifies the source of the images or information as a video press release, not as footage recorded by a recognized photojournalist.
Some local stations object to this full disclosure requirement, and several news bulletin producers refuse to add any disclaimers to the images themselves. Much of the footage provided in a video press release is considered stock or b-roll footage, such as a police officer apprehending drunk driving suspects or a lab technician preparing samples for testing. Filming similar footage in-house would be time-consuming and expensive, especially when production budgets are already stretched thin. A video press release allows news producers to fill an hour of airtime without the need to hire additional camera operators or local reporters.
Controversy over video press releases appears to center on presenting the material as legitimate news. The assumption is that a company wouldn’t go to the expense of producing and distributing a less-than-nice video press release for their product or service. There would be little opportunity for a reporter to dispute facts or feature interviews with critics. If the images created in a video press release are not identified by a notice, viewers may confuse ‘fake news’ items with objective and factual reports.
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