VNR Example
An introduction to Mass Communication covers a broad spectrum of topics surrounding multiple industries. Amongst all of those topics, it was hard to weed out a specific item that caught my attention, until I saw the video on VNRs and the overall look into the transparency of both local and national news broadcasts. Those independently produced news segments find themselves squeezed into the daily news, and most people will never hear about the true source of the material.
Public relations departments within large corporations, and sometimes government funded organizations, have put the money into producing these "news" segments, which are created with the intent of swaying opinion to market products or ideas. I learned that newsrooms use VNRs because they have to fill in time spots, and are afraid of running out of material. Even though the implication seems notable, the integrity of what qualifies as real news falls out the window.
I'm fascinated with the practicality of such a concept, yet very skeptical at the same time. In class, we watched a video that trained my eye to VNRs, and since then, I've been spotting them all over various news networks. This correlates with the transparency of our news. What I mean by this is that VNRs should be labeled within the news broadcast, so people are informed of the source for the material. If there is a report on the effectiveness of a new drug on the market, the VNR showcasing the product shouldn't cloak themselves as real news. This request is adequate, as it is fair to the viewer.
There are some good reasons as to the importance for VNRs, such as its usefulness to fill in an under budgeted local news station. The other benefit of VNRs is that it they provide a necessary tool to the marketing industry, when it comes to getting the word out on a product or service. My only condition for that type of marketing is that it be more transparent to the viewer.
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