Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Fake Local News - Just Read the Script

Back when Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of the Christ" was arousing passions nationwide, a promotion packet arrived at local public radio station KAZU. It contained the usual: fliers and posters, glowing reviews.
It also contained a transcript of questions an enterprising reporter might want to ask Jim Caviezel, the movie's star, should the opportunity arise.
Of course, the chances Caviezel would drop by KAZU's studio in Pacific Grove were negligible at best. But no matter. The packet contained a CD of Caviezel-recorded answers to questions in the transcript.
"The transcript would say, 'Hi, Jim, how are you?'" recalled Bernhard Drax, who was news director at KAZU at the time. "And on the CD, Jim would say, 'I'm fine. It's good to be here.'"
The upshot? A local reporter could read the questions, splice in Caviezel's answers from the CD and play the result on the air as if the "interview" had really happened.

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