NBC: Disclose disclose

Now that NBC and Universal have joined, keeping the players straight can be a bit of a challenge for employees. The following policy memo sent to staffers at NBC News tries to make clear how to disclose the many conflicts. You decide if it works...

NBC News is now part of a new company, NBC Universal. Universal Studios movie, TV production and resorts/theme parks) and the cable networks USA, Sci-Fi and Trio have been integrated with our NBC network and stations, as well as Telemundo, MUN2, MSNBC, CNBC, and Bravo.

When reporting on the above entities, please remember that we have an obligation to disclose our ownership. Just as we now say "Telemundo, NBC's Spanish-language network" or "MSNBC, owned jointly by Microsoft and NBC," we also need to say "that special will be seen Thursday on NBC's USA network" or "Gene Shalit reviews "Connie and Carla," a new comedy from NBC's Universal Pictures." It is the responsibility of the individual programs to be aware of the ownership connection. Generally, the Universal properties that are part of NBC Universal have the name "Universal" in their titles (with the exception of Focus Features). We urge you to review the complete list at www.nbcuni.com.

There will be some exceptions to these rules. For example, it is not necessary to identify NBC Universal as the producer of movies that appear in brief mentions, such as the list of the top-grossing films. There is no need to report that Universal Studios produced particular shows on our own networks. And, as has been our practice, when NBC News promotes coverage on MSNBC, it is not necessary to identify the ownership connection. But, as a general rule, we should disclose our business interest in properties on which we report.