It's all right
here at the NYTimes.
WASHINGTON, March 14 -- Federal investigators are scrutinizing television segments in which the Bush administration paid people to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the new Medicare law, which would be offered to help elderly Americans with the costs of their prescription medicines.
The materials were produced by the Department of Health and Human Services, which called them video news releases, but the source is not identified. Two videos end with the voice of a woman who says, "In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting."
The government also prepared scripts that can be used by news anchors introducing what the administration describes as a made-for-television "story package."
In one script, the administration suggests that anchors use this language: "In December, President Bush signed into law the first-ever prescription drug benefit for people with Medicare. Since then, there have been a lot of questions about how the law will help older Americans and people with disabilities. Reporter Karen Ryan helps sort through the details."
These fake broadcasts have already aired in several states.
The Bush Administration has resorted to these tactics because its research shows that many Americans are still confused over whether the new Medicare legislation will benefit them or not. Rather than attempt to tell Americans the truth, the Bush Administration opts for 1-line deceptive made-for-TV fake newsbroadcasts.
Can we all remember back to when this Medicare bill was supposed to be the icing on the Election 2004 cake? Now we have cost overruns, allegations about Bush firing people if they told Congress the true cost of the bill, and this. Good.
The Bush Administration is, of course, completely unapologetic:
"The use of video news releases is a common, routine practice in government and the private sector," Kevin W. Keane, a spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services said. "Anyone who has questions about this practice needs to do some research on modern public information tools."