A Florida production company has been contacting nonprofit organizations offering to make videos about the groups to air on public television, but some PBS station officials and solicited charities say the results are infomercials rather than documentaries, according to National Public Radio.

NPR reports that Vision Media, in Boca Raton, pitches short documentaries hosted by former ABC and NBC news anchor Hugh Downs, promising a potential audience in the tens of millions on public TV. The resulting spots, which cost the subjects about $25,000, are unlikely to appear on public stations, which do not air marketing programs paid for by the subjects, according to officials at PBS and at member stations in several states.

Jean Hoffman, head of a Maine charity that develops generic drugs for pets, said she was initially enthusiastic after being approached by Vision Media but passed when the firm tried “to sell us what under questioning was revealed to be advertising.”

Vision co-owner Mark Miller said the company was providing a valuable service for a fair cost and denied misleading potential clients.

See a previous Chronicle article on Vision Media.