♪ ("LAST WEEK TONIGHT" THEME PLAYS) ♪
Moving on. Our main story tonight
concerns local news. The trusted place people go
to find traffic, weather, and here in New York,
the single greatest 10 seconds of television
this city has ever produced.
At 11, paying more at the grocer, but getting less.
We'll tell you how to get the most.
The fuck are you doing?
Perfect. Absolutely perfect.
That is Sue Simmons, by the way.
She sadly retired in 2012,
and has been missed every day since.
Because if any city needs a news anchor
with an ability to say, "The fuck are you doing?"
it is New York.
And we've talked about local news a lot on this show.
Particularly regarding just how important it is
to any community.
We are constantly featuring local news investigations
in our stories, and it isn't just important
in a civic sense, it's a major money maker
for stations.
Nexstar, one of the biggest owners
of local stations said they earned nearly half
their advertising revenue from spots aired
during local news programming.
But the need to both inform a community
and make money has always been tricky to reconcile.
As you can tell from this 1960's clip
of Baltimore's Channel 11 News.
In Chicago today, white mobs threw rocks and bottles
at civil rights demonstrators. That story after this message
about Mash's Ham.
NARRATOR: He's a lover. No, not the kind you're
thinking of, he's a ham lover. And all ham lovers know
that Mash's Hams are the best you can buy.
Okay, that is a very awkward transition to have to make.
To go from teasing a story about a racist mob
with a Mash's Ham logo on your desk,
to a man who is, no matter what he says,
definitely fucking that ham. Which is absurd,
why would you do that when instead
you could be fucking Honeysuckle White's
fresh ground turkey? The only ground turkey
that's 93 percent lean and 100 percent fuckable.
Get your fuck fill with Honeysuckle.
Now, clearly, maintaining journalistic independence
from advertisers is critically important.
So important, in fact, it's frequently referred
to as the "church-state war."
And the FCC has rules requiring broadcast stations
to announce when content has been sponsored
or paid for in any way. Unfortunately,
many local stations have either completely
broken those rules, or violated the spirit of them
through a practice known as sponsored content.
It's where advertising is blended directly
into the broadcasts, and it's both more widespread
and harder to detect than you might realize.
So tonight, let's talk about sponsored content.
And let's start with the stuff
that seems essentially harmless.
People getting paid to hock products on TV.
There is an industry of lifestyle experts
that do this. And here is one of them
explaining the process to potential clients.
Brandigration is where a brand, its product,
and the messaging are all worked together
within the content of a show,
in a pre-planned manner.
With so many shows offering integrated content,
it can be hard to choose, but let's start with local.
Okay? We have a method that helps you get interviews
in a snap.
-Hi, Michelle. -Hey there, Jear bear.
-Hi, Michelle. -Hey, girl, how you doing?
See? In an instant, we have access to shows
across the nation that are ready
for your content.
Wow. I gotta say,
that is pretty impressive. The only person I can summon
with a snap of my fingers is George Clooney.
Watch.
-There he is. -Hello?
-Hey, George, how you doing? -I'm doing fine.
-Mm-hmm. -What are you doing?
I'm just showing people how I can summon you
with a simple snap of my fingers.
Um... I'm eating dinner. (CHUCKLES)
I gave you that power in a limited capacity, John.
-Understood, George, bye! -Bye.
See? The system works.
But the truth is, Michelle didn't just have
the power to make people appear out of thin air,
she also crucially had the power to make them
play along, as she hocked horrifying products like these.
MICHELLE YARN: These are the new French's
Crispy Jalapenos. One fun idea
is to use it in this jalapeno cheeseburger dip.
This is seriously everything you love about a cheeseburger
in dip form. Take a look, is this
thing gorgeous or what? So this has just hit
the party scene, it's the Velveeta shells
and cheese life-size liquid gold fountain.
Okay, so a few things I love are Doritos,
melted cheese sticks, and nachos.
And now, there's a way you can enjoy them all in one.
These are Doritos Loaded. It is a totally new way
to experience Doritos.
That's a really fun twist on a snack idea.
Isn't it?
No! No it isn't!
Now, that product has since been discontinued.
Probably because it looks less like a snack
and more like someone deep-fried a fidget spinner.
And you probably assumed Michelle was getting paid
to do that, but interestingly, the station was also
getting paid to have her on.
And while the FCC requires sponsored content
like that to be labeled, it has no requirements
for exactly how, or for how long.
So for instance, in the case of Doritos Loaded,
the disclosure came at the very end of the segment
for just two seconds, with another
barely visible reference in the credits
at the end of the program, for four more.
So, six seconds total.
Which is, incidentally, about the same amount of time
Doritos Loaded stay in your body,
before being forcibly ejected from whatever orifice
they're closest to. This practice can be
so lucrative, that many big chains
have now set up templates for local shows,
built around sponsored content.
Scripps has Morning Blend.
Tegna has Great Day.
Nexstar has Day Time.
And Sinclair has what I can only assume is
The Muslims Attack at Dawn.
And it's not just brand experts joining by satellite.
Sometimes, local businesses will pay for an interview
where they can script the questions
and make sure that they're presented glowingly.
Take Jim Heafner. Until recently,
he was a financial advisor in Charlotte, North Carolina,
who was on the local show, Morning Break, all the time.
And always introduced in very positive terms.
We have Jim Heafner, he is a certified
financial planner, he's the president
and CEO of Heafner Financial. He's a best-selling author,
and just an all-around great guy.
Thank you so much, Mr. Heafner, for being back.
You're a regular here. Thank you so much, sir,
for being back with us.
-You're welcome. -We like when you're here.
We're so glad to have you back, 'cause you're gonna help
our folks get financially fit.
Welcome back, Mr. Heafner, we love when you
are here with us, sir.
This man knows his stuff.
That level of enthusiastic co-signing seems
pretty convincing, until you remind yourself,
the station was being paid to say those things about him.
It's the reason no one who gets a birthday Cameo
from Gary Busey thinks, "Wow, Gary Busey hopes
I make it to 156 years old. He must be my best friend."
Instead, they think, "Wow, Craig just wasted
350 dollars, getting Gary Busey to wish me
a happy birthday? He must be my best friend."
And it's worth noting, that Heafner
and the firm he worked for not only were ordered
to pay a million dollars in an arbitration case
over claims he lost retirees money,
but 22 plaintiffs recently sued him,
seeking damages related to the loss of 2.7 million
dollars of their investments with one of them even saying
that he trusted Heafner because he believed...
And, yeah, of course you would believe that,
people trust their local station,
that's the point here!
And it doesn't stop at these local lifestyle shows.
Companies have also bought their way directly
into local news broadcasts.
Back in 2017...
...over segments promoting the Hunstman Cancer Institute.
Which were broadcast more than 1,000 times
on local Sinclair stations with no indication whatsoever
that they were sponsored.
Some of these segments aired during the evening news.
And in hindsight, the tone of the reports
were suspiciously upbeat.
MARK KOELBEL: This complex machine is eradicating cancer
without the invasive procedure.
For patients like Jeff, this is welcome news.
If you're gonna have prostate cancer,
this is the time to have it.
KOELBEL: In Salt Lake City, Utah, Mark Koelbel reporting.
That is a hell of a positive spin.
"No time like the present to have prostate cancer.
What are you waiting for?"
And despite how he signed off there,
is Mark Koelbel actually reporting?
Because in retrospect it seems more like
Mark Koelbel is parroting the absurdly sunny
cancer propaganda of his business,
Daddy's Favorite Money Friend.
But I will say this: At least that is an instance
of a broadcaster acting so egregiously,
the FCC was able to take action.
A lot of the time, stations are doing
just enough to stay the right side of the FCC,
but that does not mean that they're not doing
massive harm to their credibility.
Because even when a sponsorship
is "properly disclosed," I'd argue that there
are certain businesses local stations
should not be selling themselves out for.
Especially when it comes to medicine.
Because a surprising number of segments on these shows
are enthusiastic, uncritical showcases
for expensive treatments or devices
featuring claims that are, to put it charitably,
medically dubious. Like this product,
which made it on to a regular morning newscast in Utah.
Today we're talking about technology
aimed to help men with a serious issue.
Stephanie and Dustin Wolff, the co-inventors
of the world's first clinically tested,
home-use shockwave device to treat erectile dysfunction
and cellulite. It's called the Rocket.
This is the Rocket. So the Rocket works
on the principle of low intensity
sound wave therapy, which has actually been around
in Europe for about 25 years.
It's very effective, it's safe,
and it's-- the technology is FDA recognized.
Okay... First, that vibrating taint missile
looks utterly terrifying. And while it has since
been rebranded from the Rocket to the Phoenix,
I'm not sure, "Put this bird that destroys
itself in fire near your penis"
is really much of an upgrade.
But second, what does "FDA recognized" even mean there?
It definitely does not mean it's FDA cleared,
much less, approved. And the FDA actually told us
that the Phoenix is registered with them
as a therapeutic massager, though,
not as a device to treat erectile dysfunction.
And at this point, I legally have to tell you,
the manufacturer of the Phoenix
says they make no explicit claims about treating ED.
Which is a little odd because their own website
claims the Phoenix offers "proven technology
to make your penis harder," and that, "you can complete
this innovative ED treatment in the privacy of your home."
All of which they presumably feel justifies
its price tag of... Holy shit, 879 dollars!
But that is not the point here.
The point is: If you're going to allow
that product into the body of your local newscast,
you might want to have some very pointed questions
ready, and not end the segment like this.
Of course, if you want to get more information,
where will they find it online, guys?
Oh, they can go to getmyrocket.com.
There you go. You get that help you need
for whatever ailment you've got, right there.
Yeah, use the Rocket for whatever ailment you've got,
especially if that ailment if having, let's say,
around 879 too many dollars.
And the thing is, that is far from
the only weird medical product
that's been presented uncritically
during sponsored segments.
Denver's Mile High Living featured a spa owner
promoting this exciting new treatment.
Monalisa Touch is the first FDA cleared laser
to treat the vagina, and in doing so,
it treats the symptoms of vaginal atrophy.
So the procedure itself, is it painful?
No, typically what you'll feel are mild vibrations.
I tease, the next day you might feel like
you have a sunburned vagina, but it's just healing.
Oh, that's okay then. It's just your typical,
everyday sunburned vagina.
And only caused by a laser, so really just your typical,
everyday laser-roasted genitalia.
Which is just healing, from the laser
you deliberately burned it with.
It being the inside of your vagina.
Your run-of-the-mill, laser-charred vagina.
And if using a laser as a medical pseudo-dildo
seems like a scary thing to do,
you have good instincts. Because over a year
before that segment aired, the FDA issued a safety alert
making it clear they have not cleared or approved
for marketing...
And...
And the problem is, segments with dicey
medical claims are just everywhere.
Recently, the FDA has warned about the use
of unapproved stem cell therapies,
which they say can be harmful.
But you would not know that to watch some of these shows.
Here is a segment from Good Morning Texas,
featuring a doctor who's been disciplined
multiple times by the State medical board
for separate issues claiming his stem cell therapy
can treat things like MS and Parkinson's.
Despite the fact that stem cells have never
been approved to treat any neurological disorder.
And it's not just him. Here is a naturopathic doctor
making similarly baseless claims on a station
in Arizona.
So what kind of conditions are you treating with this?
So, we can treat so many different kinds of conditions.
We can do it to joints, been doing a lot of that.
We do a lot of systemic things as well.
Including we had a patient with Crohn's Disease recently,
had a patient with heart disease
who was in severe heart failure. Both of them within a week
of getting these stem cells are just feeling great
-and improved to almost normal. -Wow.
Yeah, wow indeed. That card there suggested
he can treat Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Autism,
MS, and ALS. It seems the only thing
his stem cells can't do is help that station
proof-read their list of "conditions
can stem cell therapy benefit." Because other than that,
got you they covered have.
And look, while there is no way of knowing exactly
how many people are watching these shows as they air,
that's not really the point. As this marketing executive
at Nexstar explained to potential advertisers.
Now here's the deal. Most people think, "Okay,
so I go on the TV show. I'm on TV, great,
this is awesome, airs at four o'clock,
I go on and great, people singing,
okay, so, this is cool." I'm gonna tell you right now,
when you actually go on and do that,
that isn't even the cake. That's just the icing.
You know what the cake is? The video file.
At the end you're gonna have a four or five
minute video file, and you're gonna do what
with it? Post it everywhere.
Okay, first of all, what is that motion?
That is unnecessarily gross. This isn't how
you represent cake and icing. This is how you bring
a Mash's Ham to orgasm. You give it the old
wiggle and squeeze, and then a twist and a snap.
-Oh, shit. -What is it?
Sorry, George, I'm sorry. That one was genuinely
an accident. I was just trying
to show people how to bring a Mash's Ham to orgasm.
-That's not how you do it. -Oh.
Hmm... I guess that's good information to have.
The point is, though, that marketing executive
is right. The cake is the video file.
And companies will take that video and run with it.
Remember that naturopathic doctor who claimed
stem cells were a treatment for Alzheimer's and Autism?
Here is his website, which proudly features
the many times he was given an uncritical platform
on trusted local TV.
And you might think viewers should be smart enough
to approach anything on these shows with skepticism,
but the thing is, though, many of these stations
also swap figures between their newsroom
and their sponsored content shows.
At ABC 4 Utah, for instance, Surae Chin
is both the channel's chief medical correspondent
and a host of the sponsored content show,
Good Things Utah.
And it really does feel like a line is getting
blurred there. And look, ideally,
stations wouldn't engage in this practice at all.
Or at the very least, their disclosures
would be harder for their viewers to miss
and they do significantly more work
to make sure that if they are letting someone
buy their way onto their channel and present something as real
that it's not, in fact, total nonsense.
Because right now it's far too easy
to make a ridiculous product that makes outlandish claims
and get it onto local TV.
And the reason I know that is, we did.
We started a company called Venus Inventions.
And created something called, The Venus Veil.
An absurd medical product based on technology
that absolutely doesn't exist.
We set up this website, and even hired an actress
to brandigrate the shit out of the Venus Veil,
and to shows it had no business being on.
Did it work? I don't know, you tell me,
ABC 4 Utah.
I am so excited to talk with Erica Hernandez
with the Venus Veil, a revolutionary new product
on the line. What exactly is it?
I'm so intrigued.
I'm so glad you are intrigued.
So this is the Venus Veil, it is the world's first
sexual health blanket.
Yeah, that was on ABC 4 last Friday.
And I would love to tell you that it was difficult
to get on, but it really wasn't.
And remember, that's their chief medical correspondent.
And it seems striking that she didn't have
any follow ups on claims we made about the Veil,
that you would hope a medical correspondent
would immediately take issue with.
ACTOR: The Veil is being designed with the hope
that it will precisely draw out the natural alkaline
undercurrents of the vagina, and initiate a low-grade state
of what we call microdeath, which sounds incredibly scary
but that's actually just restarting that area's
natural lifecycle. It's using this field
of magnetogenetics I was talking about,
and also a technology that's been around
for a really long time that was pioneered
in Germany about 80 years ago. So this is full
of cutting-edge technology, but it just looks like
a blanket.
Yeah, it does, and that's because it is.
It is just a blanket. Also, technology
that was pioneered in Germany about 80 years ago,
I would have some questions about that particular period
in German history. And I know that looks bad,
but let's be fair here, it's just an isolated example.
There was no way another station was gonna fall
for this, right? Absolutely no way.
Is there, KVUE Austin? Because you wouldn't
have let us pay to directly follow
your 10 p.m. local news this Thursday, would you?
There's no way that happened.
It includes some pretty interesting technology.
Yes, it does. So the team behind the Veil
was inspired by the field of magnetogenetics.
But basically, your blood is full of iron
but it's dispersed in such a way
that it isn't affected by normal magnets.
So the idea behind the Veil is that with
the right blend of proprietary magnetic fibers,
you can create a self-contained magnetic field
that restimulates blood flow and gets you feeling
like your normal self again.
Very interesting.
Is it? Is it interesting?
Or is that obvious bullshit that definitely
shouldn't have been on in the same hour of coverage
as the ceasefire in the Middle East,
a shortage of lifeguards at local public pools,
and an investigative piece on criminal justice
and bail reform. One of these things
is not like the others, and it's definitely
our Nazi-era fuck blanket.
But surely, if you saw this blanket in-person,
in a studio, then you would know not to enthusiastically
cosign on the completely baseless claims
being made right in front of you.
You would protect your viewers from that happening...
wouldn't you, Denver's Mile High Living?
This is meant to treat sexual conditions,
but a lot of people are really embarrassed
to talk about their sexual health, right?
So it was designed to be something that's
really discrete, and also really stylish
so you can have it in your home,
and it really couldn't look less like a medical product.
Yeah, no, it doesn't look like that.
You know, again, I think it's one of those things
that a lot of people are looking
to enhance their lives, but they also don't want
anything too invasive. So this is something,
where again, you're not needing a prescription
-or anything like that as well. -Yes.
Well, thank you, Erica, thanks so much
for coming in today, we appreciate it.
Thank you so much for having me, thanks for making it so easy,
-this was great. -Yeah, super easy.
Yeah, super easy. You could even argue,
way too easy. 'Cause the truth is,
none of this was nearly difficult enough
to get onto TV. And it wasn't even
that expensive. That cost just 2,800 dollars.
This one cost 2,650. And this one
only cost 1,750 dollars.
It was all shockingly affordable.
And sadly, on some stations, didn't even look
that out of place. And that is not good.
Because as we have said for years now,
the integrity of local news is crucially important.
And there is real harm for everyone
if that integrity is damaged. So to the owners
of these stations who were selling them out
at a depressingly cheap price, I have a simple question:
If I may quote the words of a very wise news anchor:
The fuck are you doing?
That's our show, thank you so much for watching.
If you want to see our Venus Veil segment in full,
the whole cake if you will, you can go to...
Goodnight.