A Loyal Reader Writes:
I received a request for audio for the following scripts:
“I am in need of male and female ‘listener next door’ voices for these listener comments. Sincere and conversational please.
“Female:
“ ‘You guys do a great job! I’m glad the days are getting longer everyday, so we can listen more.’
“ ‘I love all of you guys. The music mix is good. The contests are fun. I really appreciate the care and concern you show for each other & the listeners.’
“ ‘I listen almost all day through the week 7:30 AM – 5:30 PM. I can’t imagine not having Radio X. Thanks for all you do!’
“ ‘Male:
“ ‘My wife and I really love our radio station, and we’re proud to be able to support it.’
“ ‘I love all your programs — whatever I turn on throughout the day ministers to us in some way. Thank you!’ ”
I’m not going to follow through because I believe this to be unethical, however, my question is, is it legal?
…and believe me, the fact that this is a non-profit religious station asking to have these recorded by paid VO talent is not lost on me.
Not being qualified to dispense legal advice, all I can do is take a guess based upon my understanding of Federal Trade Commission regulations.
Last year the FTC issued pretty strict guidelines forbidding faked “testimonials” or “reviews” of commercial products. These are aimed, in part, at online reviews. A company that has its employees pose as delighted customers sharing their wonderful experiences on TripAdvisor.com or Yelp.com, for example, now is in violation of FTC regulations.
The legal (not ethical) loophole here might be the station’s “non-profit” status. On the other hand, the radio station probably solicits donations. The FTC might be interested in the use of false testimonials to influence people to donate.
It might also be argued that such testimonials are designed to provide “social proof” to help increase overall listenership. If some of those listeners are obtained at the expense of competing radio stations, might the FTC be interested?
So to answer your question directly: I don’t know if it’s legal.
“Ethics,” of course, are subjective. So I can’t objectively state if the practice is ethical or not.
But I do propose this test for anything a radio station does in a deliberately misleading manner:
“If your listeners were to find out what you are doing, would it damage your radio station in their eyes?”
Example #1
“Hey, did you know the radio station actually records all of those phone calls from listeners in advance, even though they sound live?”
Probable Listener Response: “Really? Huh! I never knew that.”
Damage To Radio Station: None
Example #2
“Hey, you know that redneck farmer who calls in to the morning show every week? That’s not a real farmer. That’s actually Ed Jock, changing his voice.”
Probable Listener Response: “You’re kidding! Wow. I never would’ve guessed.”
Damage To Radio Station: None
Example #3
“Hey, you know all those people you hear on Radio X, talking about how it’s their favorite radio station and how much they love the music?” (And for the station mentioned above: “…and how they appreciate the way it ministers to their spiritual needs?”)
Probable Listener Response: “What??? Those liars.”
Damage To Radio Station: Substantial
I wouldn’t be surprised if some readers take issue with my analysis. But again I pose the question:
“If your listeners were to find out what you are doing, would it damage your radio station in their eyes?”
Comments on this entry are closed.
I agree that making up such testimonials is unethical, whether it’s a religious station or not. What if the station were to take real listener letters they had received and have them professionally voiced?
Excellent question! I commend this brother for asking it! He will know
this- that conviction came on him…and that the requester of that audio may have not been convicted …so don’t let that go; as a brother
approach them for their motive for such a thing..they should know better. See in this case FTC, FCC, and even Listeners are Important yet Like Hebrew National might declare, who will see our actions..and our heart ? Integrity is not dead!
Call it scruples!Rare Quality sadly today! A Great Leader Submitted!
This is quite baffling. If they are really doing a good job in their programming, there must be actual listeners who ‘really’ feel that way about the radio station. Why not wait outside the church on a Sunday and get ‘real’ people’s responses. Firstly, they will tell all their friends to listen in, and secondly the station will save money.
Overall though, I think this is outright deception. From a church. Haha. Practice what you preach? Doesn’t seem that way to me. Le sigh.
Two things:
A radio station in my market does this.
Person 1: “They play the best variety.”
Person 2: “I never have to worry about listening to them with my kids.”
Person 3: “They play all my favorite tunes.”
Station Imaging Voice: “Station X!”
Does anyone think these “testimonials” are real? None of the voices mentions the name of the station. Which takes me to the second point-
These sound COMPLETELY disingenuous. No one talks like these people are scripted.
Dishonest, unethical and bogus. If you can’t take the time to get real people to say real stuff, don’t bother.
some years ago, I saw a CD of “fake testimonials” being advertised I believe in radio and records…just wrap around the station jingle/voice talent and they sound like a custom deal. I always thought it was a bit of a cheat.
“Every time I hear one of those “I love THIS station”, “THIS station has the best (whatever)”, all I can think of is “how stupid do they think their listeners are?”. Real people would most likely mention the name of THIS station if it really was their favorite. BTW, THIS blog is my all time favorite because I really trust THIS guy who writes it! 😉
Unfortunately, the practice is widespread. Just because it’s easy (and not illegal) doesn’t make it right.
nope.
On occasion we receive letters and emails that can be quite flattering. We ask the authors if they’d be interested in reading their letter/email so we can record them (over the phone or at the station)… one take, minimal editing. Those are the best because they sound legit (and their friends tune in to hear the promo).
Prior to ratings, we have asked some prize winners (energetic P1 types) if they’d like to step into the booth and record a couple of lines (scripted and/or ad libbed). Again, they tell their friends they’ll be on the air and there may be some sampling we may not have received otherwise.
Fake is fake… it’s lazy and does nothing for credibility.
Hey Dan. You are the god of radio. Call me!
I’m in a non-profit radio station in spanish. Fake testimonial = Lie
Just go outside and try to find real listeners and record their voices.
By the way,Like Dan said once no radio has a best music variety than my ipod
inductively… when is advertising not lying…
You’re spot-on, Dan!! Integrity is something that often gets pushed aside in the name of “growth.” If there aren’t enough legitimate listener testimonies, manufacturing them won’t help anything. The problem obviously lies much deeper than even the best imaging will be able to fix.
The thing that strikes me about that approach is the laziness! I work for a public radio station, and spend a lot of time finding supporters who are willing to “testify” for us. And they are definitely out there! It’s just a matter of getting a lot of them, asking them a lot of questions, and then taking the best of their answers. The good thing about that approach is that you get a lot more creativity and variety than if I just wrote boring sentences for someone to read.
One thing I have missed in the earlier replies is the fact there is nothing wrong in asking listeners for their comments. you can’t structure their comments to suit your needs; they have to be spontaneous. It is unethical to just record great things about your station and let people believe it’s a spontaneous listener. However, as regards letters there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with saying “one of our listeners, Joe Blow, wrote to us and said the following.”
The bottom line is your listeners either trust you or they don’t and if you betray that trust, well, figure it out.
I personally abhor those liners which always sound staged and who are so adored by many station-managers or PDs with no brand-management-knowledge.
On our rock-affiliate i used to make fun of those “listener”-liners using intros like….
“The next person you hear was paid by us”
Just ask yourself: if you are not stupid enough to believe those statements, why should the listeners be?