16 © Media Watch 6 (1) 16-27, 2015 ISSN 0976-0911 e-ISSN 2249-8818 DOI: 10.15655/mw/2015/v6i1/55376 Fake News? A Survey on Video News Releases and their I mplications on Journalistic Ethics, I ndependence and Credibility of Broadcast News CHANDRA CLARK & SHUHUA ZHOU University of Alabama, USA The traditional lines between journalism and public relations are now intertwined and public relations practitioners have an influential role on the content consumers see every day in newspapers and on news broadcasts. This survey looked at video news releases and their implications about journalists’ ethics, integrity, independence and credibility. 533 participants from three different populations (average viewers, communication college students, and journalists) responded to a 54-question survey that employed two predictors (i) level of experience and (ii) years of journalism experience. The results indicated that average viewers found the use of video news releases (VNRs) more unethical than journalists and communication students, although experienced journalists believed VNR use is having an impact on journalistic independence in news. Implications are discussed. Keywords: VNR, public relations, news, journalistic independence The influence of public relations on the function of the news media is one that merits further research than what has already been conducted (Curtin & Rhodenbaugh, 2001; Davis, 2000; Jain & Winner, 2013; Lee & Hong, 2012). Video news releases are just one of the many media tools that public relations professionals are using to get their message included in newscasts (Kiousis et al., 2006; Len-Ríos et al., 2009; Lewis, Williams & Franklin, 2008). The issue came to a head for the FCC after a video news release paid for by the Bush administration in January 2004 aired in totality or at least a portion of a VNR on 40 local television stations in 33 markets around the country (Uebelherr, 2004). The VNR featured people paid to pose as journalists praising the benefits of the 2003 White House-backed Medicare law, which offered to help elderly Americans pay for their prescription medicines. The videos ended with the voice of a woman saying, “In Washington, I’m Karen Ryan reporting.” In April 2005, the FCC called for a review of the use of video news releases over the issue of the nondisclosure of attribution. Commissioners unanimously clarified rules applying to broadcasters, saying they must disclose to the viewer “the nature, source, and sponsorship” of video news releases, but they did not specify what form the disclosure must take (Ahrens, 2005; Hughes, 2006). In a public notice to broadcasters, the FCC also reminded Correspondence to: Chandra Clark, Department of Telecommunication and Film, College of Communication & Information Sciences, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0152. E-mail: chandra.clark@ua.edu