Karen Ryan, the "reporter" in the medicare video news releases, speaks to the Campaign Desk.

She's not some sort of fraud, she told us, she's a public relations professional who runs a p.r. company called Karen Ryan Group Communications -- and these days she feels as if her world has collapsed around her. "I do feel I was singled out in this whole political mess, and I was used," she said. "All the good things I did in my life, and now I've become this horrible person. I made sure that I played by all the rules.

"If you have a problem with the Bush administration, if you want to have a debate over the use of video news releases, that's one thing," she said. "But what seemed to be picked up was 'Karen Ryan.'"

Was it fair to call her an actress? "No. To me, an actress would have a SAG [Screen Actors Guild] card. An actress is someone that's playing someone they're not."

Does she have any qualms about the fact that her video press releases frequently run as "news"? No. The news stations, she said, bear the responsibility for how they use the footage she provides.
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Ryan is clearly good at her job. Over the last few years, literally hundreds of stations have run -- as news -- items "reported" by Ryan, pushing everything from Excedrin to "a new ear infection treatment called Ciprodex." Here's an excerpt from her work, which ran as news in July of last year on WBRZ Baton Rouge:

Ryan: Now, low dose hormone therapy is available with 28 percent less estrogen and 40 percent less progestin. And with low dose hormone therapy now available by prescription, health experts recommend consulting your doctor to find out what's right for you. Women who want symptom relief with less hormones now have new options. In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting.

And here are excerpts from a "report" that ran in September of last year, also on WBRZ:

Ryan: Experts say many children don't like to get vaccinated, but this year there's a new needle-free option called Flumist.

Robert Belshe: Influenza enters the body through the nose. FluMist is a new type of influenza vaccine that is given as a nasal spray or nasal mist.

That's one reason why Sharon Moore is having her daughter vaccinated this year.

Sharon Moore: I was real interested when I found out that the vaccine was given in the form of a nose spray. To me it sounded like a less painful way of delivering the vaccine.

Ryan: Studies show Flumist is 85 percent effective, and it's not just for healthy children aged 5 and older. It's approved for healthy adults to age 49.

Tammy Grant: This flu season I'm really looking forward to getting the vaccine through FluMist rather than through an injection. And I'm going to encourage my staff and my co-workers and my family to all get protected.

Ryan: Flumist is now available in doctor's offices and pharmacies. In Washington, I'm Karen Ryan reporting.

Another cheery Ryan "report" began: "Video game units are very popular this year on Christmas wish lists."

It continued:

Interview -- Matt Schelhouse, Best Buy Manager, we can't keep them on the shelves. They're gone within two hours. The newest consoles are Nintendo's Game Cube and Microsoft X-Box.

Ryan is as happy to shill for public interest groups as for corporations and government agencies. She appeared in segments commissioned by the environmental group Union of Concerned Scientists that ran on numerous local stations in September of last year, urging consumers to avoid SUVs. And in May of last year, in a segment picked up by KTBC Austin among others, she "reported" on the dangers of smoking while pregnant, on behalf of the National Partnership of Pregnant Smokers.

So now we know a little more about the faux reporter. More crucially, what in all heck is the deal with these fake news stories? How much of what we see in the news comes from the news station, and how much is a paid for PR commercial from corporations, government, and interest groups?
Anyone else feel those goosebumps? I just finished "Amusing Ourselves to Death," wherein Neil Postman postulates that our doom is predicted better by Huxley than by Orwell. (review of said book forthcoming). But this stuff reeks of Orwell, donnit?