Two Stations Fined For Airing VNRs Without Proper Disclosure

KMSP, a Fox station in Minneapolis-St. Paul, and WMGM, an NBC affiliate in New Jersey, have both been fined by the FCC for “apparent willful violation of section 317 of the Communications Act,” which says outlets must properly disclose when segments that air have been sponsored. Each station was fined $4,000.

The segment WMGM broadcast was about zinc-based medicine like Zicam. And the KMSP spot was about convertible sales that featured General Motors prominently. In both cases, footage from VNRs (Zicam and GM respectively) was used.