To VNR or Not to VNR

On the Hot Topic of Video News Releases 

                From what I’ve gathered, Video News Releases are press releases for companies or organizations. These videos are made for the benefit of the company sponsoring them and are pushed as news stories instead of advertisements. The videos, once compiled, are sent out to news stations which then take the skeletons and fill in newsroom meat, creating a story out of product placement. It seems to me that VNRs are nothing but free advertising. Companies know that in the world of 24-hour journalism, news stations scramble for ideas to cover. In today’s society, the consensual plagiarism of VNRs is beneficial to both the creator and the broadcaster. The only one that reaps no benefit is the audience. And what is the news for but to inform and benefit the audience? This is why I believe that VNRs are unethical and a waste of what could be valuable airtime.

                After their creation and distribution amongst television stations, VNRs feel like elongated product placements, but applied to the newsroom instead of inserted into entertainment. Relayed to the public as breaking news stories, VNRs are regurgitated information that has already been released. When companies set free their own VNRs, the videos are distributed amongst various news stations and television channels, whether intentionally or accidentally. From here, the VNRs can be cropped, edited, and manipulated to condense or stretch out the information into spurts of what is conditioned to come across as actual news, when in fact these “stores” are sponsored company performances. It is obvious when one pays attention that VNRs are nothing but commercials. The company or organization’s logo is constantly displayed at the corner of the screen or shown numerous times on papers or products present in the video. In this way VNRs can be seen as nothing but advertising for the companies that release them and quick, senseless fodder for news channels to dub as important flashes.

In the modern day of 24-hour news reporting, companies will take any story that has enough weight and will milk it for all it is worth. Quality and quantity haave3 decreased over the years as journalists struggle to spit out more and more information on a ridiculously fast paced agenda. I feel like VNRs are unethical because they violate some of the fundamental principles of journalism by fronting advertisements as actual news—a lie to the viewer. A journalist’s obligation is to the people. The audience is the number one priority, not the companies who make VNRs. With Video News Releases, businesses and organizations become the focus and the needs and concerns of the citizens are completely forsaken.

                VNRs would not be a problem if they could have their own channel for which to be shown. Or, more practically, VNRs should be released on company websites. Organizations and corporations should promote their own videos using social networking or commercials that hint at website visitation.  If companies want to promote themselves, there should be a place where they can do it—and there is. They should not, however, be posed as news stories on national television.