The state Division of Natural Resources pays a local TV station for control over the content of a news segment about outdoor life in West Virginia.

According to their contract with the Wildlife Resources Section of the DNR, Sinclair Media, which owns WCHS-TV and WVAH-TV, receives $90,000 annually to produce and air 52 90-second "West Virginia Wildlife" segments, as well as 30-second ads that lead into the segment.

In return, the state agency maintains editorial control over the final product.

"Segment scripts, eight 30-second commercials and 'West Virginia Wildlife' promos must be approved and accepted by WRS staff prior to airing," the 2005 contract states. "WRS will provide topics and set up interviews on location."

The segment won a regional Emmy award in 2007 in the "Health/Science/Environment - News" category.

While the station does acknowledge the sponsorship, there is no indication during the news broadcast that "West Virginia Wildlife" is any different from other news segments.

But unlike other advertisers, who might sponsor the station's weather coverage every night, DNR dictates its own coverage.

"We're paying a flat fee for that service," said wildlife section chief Curtis Taylor. "We're paying for a deliverable product."

The funds come from lottery money earmarked for state promotion and advertising, Taylor said.

"[It's] a service to the public, as I see it. It keeps them informed about where their license fees are going," he said. "I don't think you could get the same level of service with a PSA [public service announcement]."

Al Tompkins, the broadcast/online group leader for the Poynter Institute, a journalism organization in Florida known for continuing education and ethics resources, said sponsorship should buy only ad placement, not a newscast's content.

"I want to be clear I have no knowledge of this situation, so I cannot speak to this station's practice," Tompkins wrote in a recent e-mail. "But more generally: no, content should not be for sale; any sponsorships should be fully disclosed; [a] TV station should never hand over editorial control."

Sinclair Media submitted the only bid for the contract in November 2005, and the agreement has been extended twice for 2007 and 2008.

"I don't think I have any issues with the segment at all," said station news director Matt Snyder. "The DNR wanted a news station to show it in the best light possible....

"This is not an issue-oriented endeavor. This is a feature piece on West Virginia and all the great outdoors that it has to offer."

Despite the Emmy win in a news category, he said he doesn't view the segment as a news story.

The state Division of Natural Resources pays a local TV station for control over the content of a news segment about outdoor life in West Virginia.

According to their contract with the Wildlife Resources Section of the DNR, Sinclair Media, which owns WCHS-TV and WVAH-TV, receives $90,000 annually to produce and air 52 90-second "West Virginia Wildlife" segments, as well as 30-second ads that lead into the segment.

In return, the state agency maintains editorial control over the final product.

"Segment scripts, eight 30-second commercials and 'West Virginia Wildlife' promos must be approved and accepted by WRS staff prior to airing," the 2005 contract states. "WRS will provide topics and set up interviews on location."

The segment won a regional Emmy award in 2007 in the "Health/Science/Environment - News" category.

While the station does acknowledge the sponsorship, there is no indication during the news broadcast that "West Virginia Wildlife" is any different from other news segments.

But unlike other advertisers, who might sponsor the station's weather coverage every night, DNR dictates its own coverage.

"We're paying a flat fee for that service," said wildlife section chief Curtis Taylor. "We're paying for a deliverable product."

The funds come from lottery money earmarked for state promotion and advertising, Taylor said.

"[It's] a service to the public, as I see it. It keeps them informed about where their license fees are going," he said. "I don't think you could get the same level of service with a PSA [public service announcement]."

Al Tompkins, the broadcast/online group leader for the Poynter Institute, a journalism organization in Florida known for continuing education and ethics resources, said sponsorship should buy only ad placement, not a newscast's content.

"I want to be clear I have no knowledge of this situation, so I cannot speak to this station's practice," Tompkins wrote in a recent e-mail. "But more generally: no, content should not be for sale; any sponsorships should be fully disclosed; [a] TV station should never hand over editorial control."

Sinclair Media submitted the only bid for the contract in November 2005, and the agreement has been extended twice for 2007 and 2008.

"I don't think I have any issues with the segment at all," said station news director Matt Snyder. "The DNR wanted a news station to show it in the best light possible....

"This is not an issue-oriented endeavor. This is a feature piece on West Virginia and all the great outdoors that it has to offer."

Despite the Emmy win in a news category, he said he doesn't view the segment as a news story.

"They don't tell us anything to report. They approve scripts because they want to make sure what we say and what we put on the air is correct."

Taylor said DNR chooses the topics.

"[DNR has] not only final say, but we put together a list of items we think should be covered. They don't come up with the items," he said.

In addition, the contract requires that the station cover two wildlife-related events, the National Hunting and Fishing Days celebration at Stonewall Jackson Lake State Park and the West Virginia Trophy Hunters Association Hunt Show in Charleston.

"This way, we can tell WCHS, 'We want you to go over and film youth challenge; we want you to go film archery; we think these are the most important points,'" Taylor said.

Roy Flynn, president of the Ohio Valley Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, said the judges who selected "West Virginia Wildlife" for recognition would have no way of knowing that the segment was paid for by a state agency.

"It really doesn't matter if it was contractually paid for by West Virginia," Flynn said. "When we get the piece, we're not looking at that.... Basically, they're judged on three criteria: content, creativity and execution. And that's what [judges] are looking for in the piece."

The contract with Sinclair Media is the latest in a series of arrangements of state-funded efforts to buy coverage for the DNR.

Bray Cary, CEO of West Virginia Media, said he inherited a $67,600 annual contract with the DNR for a segment - which was then called "Woods and Water/Fishing West Virginia" - when he bought WOWK-TV in 2002.

Cary said the decision not to enter a bid on the current contract was based on economics and not ethics.

"We didn't think it was enough value for the time in our newscast," Cary said. "We actually thought the content was legitimate content in terms of there's a lot of interest in hunting and fishing in West Virginia."

State records show the DNR signed a similar contract with MetroNews Radio Networks, a Charleston-based radio chain, in January 2006.

For more than $11,500, MetroNews agreed to produce and air 52 installments of a three-minute program titled "DNR Wildlife Resources Report," as well as 52 30-second commercials, all subject to DNR approval.

The TV contract specifies that $62,700 is for the cost of the ads, while $27,300 is for the news segments.

Taylor said he considers "West Virginia Wildlife" a success.

"People in my position in other states want to have something like that because it gets [our] message out so well," he said. "If we had the resources, maybe we'd have our own film crew and staff, but we don't."

To contact staff writer Andrew Clevenger, use e-mail or call 348-1723.