The FCC should "take any remedial measures necessary to prevent station owners from misleading their viewers," said Inouye, who finds that any lack of disclosure represents "a serious breach of journalistic ethics."

Inouye, ranking Democrat on the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, said the FCC should also scrutinize whether stations violated prohibitions against accepting "money, service or other valuable consideration for the airing of content."

The commission will "take the letter very seriously and will look into it," FCC spokesman David Fiske said yesterday. Generally, the FCC reviews letters and complaints before determining if there should be an investigation.

The White House has defended the video releases distributed to stations across the country. The videos are frequently used without any disclosure of the government's role in production.

President Bush this week pointed to a Justice Department memo issued last week that concluded the practice was appropriate so long as the videos presented factual information about government programs.

The Justice Department guidelines conflicted with an opinion from the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress. The videos could amount to illegal "covert propaganda" if stations did not clearly state the source of the information, the GAO said.

There has been increased scrutiny of government media practices since the revelation in January that conservative columnists were paid to plug the administration's agenda and did not tell readers they had received money. Bush, after the practice was disclosed, said it was wrong and ordered that it stop.