Sometimes CBS News Interviews Are Really Commercials

When you watch a news broadcast, you expect to see bonafide news stories, interviews, and produced pieces and not infomercials masquerading as any of those types of segments.

David B. was appalled recently while watching CBS Mornings – that network’s version of the Today Show and GMA. They aired a live interview with a personal finance expert who quickly started peddling a high-yield savings account in a joint promotion by Verizon and an online bank you never heard of. And if that wasn’t enough, she then touted a Verizon package deal on streaming services and Verizon’s new three-year price guarantee.

*MOUSE PRINT missing:

During the interview itself, there was no on-screen disclosure that this was in essence an infomercial for Verizon or that the expert was a paid spokesperson.

To be fair, another co-anchor of the program did introduce the segment saying that they were partnering with Verizon who in turn had hired this financial expert to offer advice. TV shows like this have adopted the phrase “we partnered with X company” as a euphemism for really meaning that X company has paid the network to air the following segment. During the interview, Tony Dokoupil did say once that the guest was “here on behalf of Verizon” but did not mention CBS was paid too.

Multiple disclosure laws apply to segments like this from the FCC (“payola” rules) that require broadcasters to say if they received money to air a particular segment, and from the FTC to make clear to viewers that content that looks like the actual program but is really an advertisement has to be clearly disclosed. (See native advertising guidelines.) Lastly, the fact that the financial advisor was paid by Verizon also has to be disclosed under the FTC’s endorsement and testimonial guidelines.

Did the introduction to the segment really do all that as clearly as it could? And given that viewers tune in and out of morning shows as they get ready for the day, why was there no on-screen disclosure at all during the nearly five-minute interview itself? We asked the senior vice president of CBS News standards and practices about that, along with the bigger issue of whether it is ever appropriate for a CBS News broadcast to include advertising segments made to look like regular program content.

“The segment was clearly identified as a partnership and sponsored by Verizon throughout, both visually and verbally. We took extra steps to identify the guest as a Verizon “brand partner” and that she was there for the company. We did all of this in compliance with FCC regulations and to ensure our viewers clearly understood our relationship with Verizon.” — CBS News spokesperson.

See one of our prior stories where some other national programs and other media run segments that are really sales pitches.

Feel free to offer your thoughts in the comments.