Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will introduce the following amendment to President Bush’s fiscal year 2006 budget tonight, barring any funds for U.S. government agencies that produce prepackaged news without a disclaimer that the release was paid for by the government, RAW STORY has learned.
The amendment follows; it will be introduced tonight, Boxer’s communications director David Sandretti stated.The amendment comes in the wake of a huge spread in Sunday’s New York Times which documented a massive attempt by the Bush Administration to insert prepackaged news items into television news broadcasts.
Such items were frequently run without any disclaimer that they had been paid for by the government. The Government Accountability Office has ruled that these prepackaged segments are propaganda; the Bush Administration leans on a Bush Justice Department interpretation of the law saying they are in theclear.Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) issued a letter to the Federal Communications Commission demanding a thorough investigation.
“I strongly believe that the federal government should not be permitted to manipulate public opinion by providing news organizations with so-called ‘news reports’ that have been created by public relations experts, which are then broadcast without proper disclosure,” Sen. Kerry wrote.
“Taxpayers have a right to know if their tax dollars have been used to produce the news they’re watching. This is especially disconcerting in light of recent disclosures that federal agencies have compensated professional journalists for presenting and supporting Bush Administration policies.”
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