Frank Beacham's Journal

Beware! Much of Local TV News is Fake!

You probably didn’t know it, but much of the local television news you see is produced by corporations and not journalists. Stories are made to look like news, but they are actually disguised commercials trying to sell you something.

The practice is also perfectly legal, if the station buries the info about the fake reporting at the end of the newscast during the fast-moving credits. Otherwise, it could face a $10,000 fine.

This issue has been going on a long time. But don’t expect to hear about it on your local news.

A few years ago, several public interest groups complained to the Federal Communications Commission that television news operations were including commercial content in newscasts disguised as news. Now, the FCC is reacting, proposing a new regulation that would require all broadcast stations to disclose on the Internet all corporate interests behind their news content.

The FCC has determined that TV newscasts are increasingly seeded with corporate advertising masquerading as news, though the news program is portrayed as the work of independent journalists. Increasingly, paying companies are shaping news coverage at broadcast stations.

The FCC would change the rule from disclosure in the closing credits to making television stations maintain a public file managed online by the FCC. This way it will be easier to track fake news.

A recent Washington Post article documented a live interview segment in which a seemingly neutral reviewer recommended a series of products that the “reviewer” had been paid by sponsors to mention.

The newspaper also said television stations across the country have brokered “exclusive” relationships with local hospitals in which the hospitals pay the station to be featured in health stories. Other stations, the Post reported, have aired “news” programs that feature interviews with sponsors who’ve paid for the privilege.

The FCC said many television stations use “video news releases,” which is lookalike news footage produced by a sponsor or corporate interest that appears to be shot and edited by the station.

We have always said it is best not to watch or pay attention to local news at all. There has never been real “news” there to start with. But, if you watch, beware that you may be watching corporate commercials. Nothing in our culture is as it appears to be. So turn off the damn box.

Stop SOPA and PIPA Before It Destroys the Internet!

Most of us know that our Congress is corrupt. Money from corporate interests has infiltrated the entire body, making even the "best" members often use very bad judgement. The large media companies are pushing SOPA and PIPA, two bills that will allow private corporations to shut down web sites they suspect of stealing their content. Passage would be the end of a free Internet.

Today, many web sites are on strike. Go here and register your complaint with Congress. We live in dangerous times and this one of them. 

PROTECT IP / SOPA Breaks The Internet from Fight for the Future on Vimeo.

Hostess, Makers of Kid Show Goodies, Files for Bankruptcy

Sorry, Doodyville, one of Howdy’s most dedicated sponsors from the 1950s has filed for bankruptcy. Hostess Brands, makers of Hostess Creme-Filled Cupcakes, Twinkies and Ding Dongs — not to mention Wonder Bread — has assets of about $1 billion but is struggling under a debt load of $860 million.

A privately held company located in Irving, Texas, Hostess became a staple junk food maker for kids, who grew up sneaking Twinkies and Hostess cupcakes when no one was looking after seeing them on TV's kid shows, like Howdy Doody. High-end restaurants took to duplicating the cupcakes as desserts in later years, playing on the nostalgia.

Buffalo Bob once told me he did private “blue” dress rehearsals for executives of the sponsors, which no doubt included Hostess. Later, when I was older I worked on the floor crew of “Mr. Knozit,” a kid show run by Joe Pinner, at WIS-TV in Columbia, S.C. 

On this show, Joe had to tear a slice of Wonder Break straight down the middle to prove how fresh it was. The trick worked because I would go to the factory and get the freshest loaves of bread available for the show. Otherwise, the bread would never tear straight.

Hostess is an iconic American name. We hope it survives long after its current financial problems. Those memories are still strong to this day.

Me, Howdy and Buffalo Bob of the Howdy Doody Show

NRBQ's Drummer Tom Ardolino Dies at 56

NRBQ Drummer Tom Ardolino died on Jan. 6 at age 56, according to the band's website.

I photographed Tom on a cruise ship in New York Harbor on Aug. 19, 2010 when he was backing the great guitarist Hubert Sumlin, who also recently died.

Ardolino joined NRBQ (for New Rhythm and Blues Quartet) in 1974 and played on 15 studio recordings. Though the group had limited mainstream followers, it had major music figures in its fan base, including Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Bonnie Raitt and Elvis Costello.

 

Bob Dylan and Joan Baez at the Rolling Thunder Review

I took this picture at Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Review in Gainesville, Florida on April 25, 1976. Dylan is pictured with Joan Baez. I had no camera at the time and paid a fellow sitting next to me $10 to borrow his camera and to purchase one roll of film. Well worth it, I think!