Radio Imaging That Damages The Radio Station's Reputation

WHEN DOES "RADIO IMAGING" BECOME "LYING"?
by Dan O'Day

A voice actor emailed this message to me:

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.
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Not being qualified to dispense legal advice, all I can do is take a guess based upon my understanding of Federal Trade Commission regulations.

The FTC has 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 listener 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 the 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

Let's say, for example, that someone says to one of your listeners,"Hey, did you know the radio station actually records all of those phone calls from listeners in advance, even though they sound live?"

The listener's probable response: "Really? Huh! I never knew that."

Damage To Radio Station: None

Or perhaps someone says to one of your listeners,"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."

The listener's probable response: "You're kidding! Wow. I never would've guessed."

Damage To Radio Station: None

Example #3

But what if someone says to one of your listeners,"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. Those are all faked. They actually BUY those recordings from some company somewhere."

The listener's probable response:"What??? Those liars."

Damage To Radio Station: Substantial

So, at your radio station:"If your listeners were to find out what you are doing, would it damage your radio station in their eyes?"