A video press release (VPR), also called a video news release (VNR), is a short, broadcast-ready video produced by a government, corporation, NGO, or political campaign and distributed to news outlets in the hope that some or all of the footage will be aired. VPRs typically mimic the format of a television news package: they include b-roll, scripted voiceover, on-camera interviews, and sometimes a "reporter" sign-off, allowing stations to insert their own anchor or air the package largely as received.
VPRs emerged as a public-relations tool in the United States in the 1980s alongside satellite distribution, and have since become standard practice for ministries, intergovernmental organizations, and advocacy groups. The UN, NATO, the European Commission, and many national foreign ministries routinely circulate VPRs covering summits, peacekeeping operations, and humanitarian missions, providing footage that under-resourced newsrooms can air at low cost.
The practice is controversial when the source is not disclosed to viewers. In the United States, a 2005 New York Times investigation and subsequent Government Accountability Office findings concluded that several federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education, had distributed VPRs that aired on local stations without identifying the government as the source — a practice the GAO characterized as covert propaganda. The Federal Communications Commission later issued guidance requiring sponsorship identification when government-produced material is broadcast.
For political researchers and MUN delegates, VPRs are useful primary sources: they reveal how an actor wants an event framed, which images it selects, and which spokespeople it elevates. They should be treated as messaging artifacts rather than neutral reporting. Key things to log when citing a VPR include the producing entity, distribution date, runtime, languages offered, and whether the outlet that aired it disclosed the source.
VPRs are distinct from livestreamed press conferences and from B-roll packages, which are unedited footage releases without scripted narration.
Example
In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that the Department of Health and Human Services had distributed video press releases promoting Medicare reforms that aired on local news stations without disclosing the government as the source.
Frequently asked questions
A written press release is text distributed to journalists; a VPR is a broadcast-ready video package that stations can air directly, often with built-in voiceover, interviews, and b-roll.
Keep learning