However the public affairs departments had no oversight of advertising. And those departments mostly went away when the FCC did away with community ascertainment requirements during one of their deregulation binges.
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Well-known radio advertiser settles in false advertising lawsuit
- Thread starter Martin Gilbert
- Start date
However the public affairs departments had no oversight of advertising. And those departments mostly went away when the FCC did away with community ascertainment requirements during one of their deregulation binges.
If it doesn’t occur to people that gold peddlers say
Talk show hosts urging listeners to buy gold, especially without disclaimers that they are not registered investment advisors, is unacceptable and flirts with illegality. SEC.gov | Laws and Rules
Are you certain the host in question wasn't doing a live read commercial? I've heard many such commercials over the years. I think they're as old as commercial radio itself.
As for supplements, it's always caveat emptor. Even prescriptions have their issues, hence all the lawsuits when a prescription product goes awry. I personally use some supplements, but I always investigate them beforehand. The FDA also has the Supplement Facts label on supplements for a reason, as well as disclaimers required on every bottle or box -- at least by law.
I probably have heard at least one or two of the supplement ads in the OP, and I think 'puffery' is probably the most appropriate description for many of their radio claims, as well as many other unrelated radio commercial claims.
In the case of the product mentioned in the OP, you can't replace ten pounds of vegetables with one or two capsules. But then again, to get your daily FDA requirement of some vitamins and minerals, you'd have to eat a wheelbarrow of certain foods a day. There is no magic panacea. You just do the best you can.
Making accusations of illegal activity on a message board are meaningless. We've laid out the proper course of action if you feel someone is doing something illegal.
Update: Federal court orders Balance of Nature to stop selling its products
Court orders Balance of Nature to stop sales of supplements after FDA lawsuits
Two companies behind the supplements brand Balance of Nature had flouted years of warnings, the FDA said.www.cbsnews.com
This part of the CBS News article caught my attention:
"Balance of Nature has also drawn scrutiny for years from outside groups.
The nonprofit Truth in Advertising filed complaints in 2020 against Balance of Nature with the FTC and FDA, citing claims made across a number of talk radio shows including "The Joe Piscopo Show," "Kevin McCullough Radio" and "America First with Sebastian Gorka" episodes."
All of these shows air on Salem's WMCA and WNYM in the New York market. And in full disclosure, Salem also happens to be my employer.
Without being too critical, integrity has become passe when it comes to properly vetting potential advertisers on both the local and national levels. All that matters is that the check clears, and that the salesperson keeps their clients happy and gets their commission. Truth is, without these bottom-feeders and their cash, the stations would have challenges meeting their bottom lines. So, it's pretty much a "damned-if-you-do, damned-if-you-don't" scenario.
IIRC, MyPillow got into trouble a few years ago for making false claims that its products cure ailments associated with sleeping, and they had to make adjustments in their advertising. We'll see if "Balance of Nature" takes the same road. And there was a time when I would hear their infomercials play as many as four times every Saturday or Sunday, but must have cut back on their radio spending.
IMO, the supplement companies are the worst offenders. "Relief Factor", "Ruff Greens" and the ubiquitous "Dinovite" have to be next on the FDA and FTC's collective (s)hit list.
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The other side of that is the programming on those stations has chased away both credible advertisers and sellable demographics, leaving the only potential sponsors to be drug, medical, financial, and insurance companies. It's starting to happen on social media sites that attract controversial commentary. It's very unlikely you're going to hear that kind of advertising on music stations that target younger demos.
The only time I've ever known any station to scrutinize spots for their content before they ran was at KPRS, and I think a big part of the reason they can do that is because they're independently owned. They choose/chose not to run any spots they felt were racist, and they only refused one spot while I was there. I don't remember what company it was for and I didn't hear it when it was being reviewed, but the production director told me about it.
At the same time, these are radio people who are running the ads, not nutrient or nutrition experts.
Unless a radio station, or radio company hires a lab to actually test every consumable product they allow to advertise on their stations, there is no way for them to know whether the product is effective or not, or can live up to the statements made in the advertisements. Not every radio company has a lab handy to check out all consumable products before they decide to run the ads.
And, stations obviously need the advertising money.
My Pillow lost its BBB accreditation as a consequence of misleading perpetual sales. To the extent that Relief Factor is effective in relieving pain, the key ingredient would be the turmeric. The other ingredients, such as fish oil and resveratrol, likely offer no benefits.
BBB is a private organization, they have no enforcement power at all
And few stations actually had a "Public Affairs Department". I don't personally know of a single one.
PA was a joint responsibility of the Program Director and General Manager and, if the station had one, the News Director. Generally it meant making sure that the programming in the areas that were promised in the license or license renewal applications were being fulfilled. That meant total hours of news, public affairs, educational and other.
Of course, all the department heads would be called on to help with "Community Leader Ascertainment" in the pre-license renewal period.
As you say, all things of the past... when a license renewal, complete with detailed ascertainment, composite week logs and other support documents could fill a 20 pound box. And if co-prepared with FCC counsel, could cost $3,000 or more.
They were not told to stop´selling the product, just to stop making those absurd claims. So they did new ads and ordered time to run them. They may have run the copy by their attorneys, but they would not have needed other approval..
Here's the article linked previously:
Court orders Balance of Nature to stop sales of supplements after FDA lawsuits
Two companies behind the supplements brand Balance of Nature had flouted years of warnings, the FDA said.
www.cbsnews.com
They were also told to hire an outside experts to approve future ads.
We regularly exceede anything that mightve ever been required of public files/public service programming/public affairs department/community asscertainment, etc and still far exceede it even though we dont need to maintain an online or paper public file anymore
The subject of a talk radio host selling gold to listeners came up in this thread. There is a case before the Supreme Court that would challenge whether the government can interfere or regulate the financial claims made on the radio. The case was brought by a conservative talk show host:
newrepublic.com
The goal is to cut back on the role of government as a safety net or protection against fraud on the radio.
Supreme Court Eyes Limiting the Power to Punish Financial Fraudsters
But the conservative majority seemed less inclined to upend the administrative state.
newrepublic.com
The goal is to cut back on the role of government as a safety net or protection against fraud on the radio.
Not just radio...
So the spice helps loosen and unblock it, and the fiber helps push it through and "pass" it?
I just read the ingredients... i take fiber powder every day.. get it from walmart, target, etc.
This looks to be nothing more then regular fiber with exotic flavoring with some "health add ons" that are only slightly more than a placebo