(2005-02-19) — Just a day after the U.S. comptroller general warned the White House against distributing simulated newscasts that promote administration policies without clearly stating the source, major U.S. media outlets including the New York Times, CNN and CBS News have received a similar advisory.

“Americans have a right to know whether there is an agenda or any bias behind the news reports they read, hear or view,” said a spokesman from the FCC. “Just as the White House shouldn’t try to accomplish its public relations goals with unattributed faux newscasts, so the editors at the Washington Post and MSNBC cannot hide their political agendas behind a patina of journalistic credibility.”

The new warning includes guidelines for flagging so called ‘agenda-driven’ news to make sources and motivation more transparent to news consumers.

Under the terms of the new protocol, the New York Times, Washington Post and L.A. Times, for example, may continue their traditional ‘news’ coverage, but all sections of the papers will now be labeled ‘Op-Ed.’

Televised news operations, like CNN or CBS, will be in compliance if newscasters simply wink at the camera at least once every 20 seconds during agenda-driven stories.

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