TV'S SECRET ANTI-DRUG DEAL; ANTI-DRUG DEAL NOT TV FICTION.

Byline: Valerie Kuklenski Staff Writer

The federal government gave television networks financial incentives to put anti-drug messages into the scripts of some of their most popular shows, including NBC's ``ER,'' ABC's ``The Practice,'' CBS's ``Chicago Hope'' and Fox's ``Beverly Hills 90210.''

The White House drug office - which reviewed some scripts and footage in advance of broadcast - valued the trade-offs at $22 million.

Most of the networks, which have long held their program content sacred and beyond the reach of would-be government censors, issued statements denying that they profited from the trade-offs.

The arrangement, however, was not known by most of those working on the shows and raises serious ethical questions about how the networks can be influenced by outside forces, especially government policy-makers, when it comes to content.

An investigative report published Thursday by Salon.com, a San Francisco-based online magazine, said NBC, ABC, CBS, Fox and the WB offered series episodes with anti-drug themes for the federal office's approval. The WB was cited as the only network that changed scripts in response to government drug experts. The shows were ``Smart Guy'' and ``The Wayan Brothers.''

If drug czar Barry R. McCaffrey's staff deemed the programs delivered a good message, they credited advertising time the office was due back to the networks, at least a portion of which was resold on the open market.

The arrangement began in 1997 as a well-publicized five-year, $2 billion anti-drug campaign approved by Congress and accepted reluctantly by the networks. The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) drove a hard bargain, negotiating for a $1 billion cash package and another $1 billion in free air time and other media considerations for its messages - those ``this is your brain on drugs'' spots, among others.

By early 1998, the TV advertising business was booming and the networks were grumbling about all that free time they had kissed goodbye. Alan Levitt, the ONDCP's official in charge of the campaign, saw an opportunity and proposed that the office would accept anti-drug themed prime-time programs in exchange for some of those free spots.

It was seen as a win-win situation, both for the ONDCP, which benefited from having its messages couched inside some of TV's most popular shows instead of during often-ignored commercial breaks, and for the networks, which claimed back commercial spots at a time when Internet companies had boosted demand.

And nearly everyone agrees it's good citizenship to discourage drug abuse.

The problems, however, are myriad:

--The networks may have opened the floodgates for similar programming- for-dollars arrangements with nonprofit groups, government agencies, even ordinary advertisers like carmakers and soda brands.

--For the most part the networks don't own the programs they have been using for their own financial gain. Yet air time kicked back to the networks was resold by the networks, which pocketed the proceeds.

--Scripts and tapes of TV shows were shipped to Washington for ONDCP approval - and sometimes revisions - often without the knowledge of the series' writers and producers, let alone their consent.

--TV viewers have been unknowingly subjected to what some critics call propaganda during a show itself, not just during the breaks when they expect it.

ABC, for its part, says it did not profit from the arrangement because it fulfilled its obligation to air all the free and paid spots.

``Even though we did in fact provide tapes of some of our programs after they aired, it was a moot issue because we had over-delivered on our (public service announcement) commitment,'' said ABC spokeswoman Julie Hoover.

However, ABC showed it was game to make the trade-off of program content for commercial time and other considerations by sending in tapes to the ONDCP.

Fox executives say their deal with the government called for half paid air time and half in equivalent ``media value,'' meaning anything from public service announcements on air to adding those ``this is your brain ...'' spots to home videocassettes. One executive said Fox did not receive anything from the ONDCP it could resell to any other company.

ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox all insisted they retained complete artistic control over their programs.

WB has acknowledged that a script for ``Smart Guy'' was altered after it was submitted to the drug policy office based on the government's input. Jamie Kellner, WB's top executive, told The New York Times the network was just seeking the agency's ``expertise.''

One veteran producer whose series was among those cited by Salon.com was stunned by the news, adding he never was asked by his boss or his network to alter an episode dealing with the subject.

Terry Francke, counsel for the California First Amendment Coalition, called the idea of the government influencing program messages ``insulting.''

``It certainly should raise hackles in viewers' minds,'' Francke said. ``Are we going to see Homer Simpson stop on the way home from the reactor to make sure he pays his taxes promptly on April 15?''

The Salon.com story, the result of a six-month investigation by Daniel Forbes, is sure to be the focus of the Television Critics' Association gathering today in Pasadena. Donald Vereen, deputy director of the ONDCP, is set to present the results of a new study about the impact of television's portrayals of drug and alcohol abuse on viewers.

PLAYERS

According to Salon.com:

--ABC, NBC, CBS, WB, Fox

--White House Office of National Drug Control Policy and official Alan Levitt.

--Zenith Media Services Inc. CEO Richard Hamilton - Oversaw negotiations with networks.

TV SHOWS

--NBC: "ER," "Providence," "Trinity."

--CBS: "Chicago Hope," "Cosby," "Promised Land."

--ABC: "The Drew Carey Show," "The Practice," "Sabrina the Teenage Witch," "Boy Meets World," "General Hospital," "Sports Night," "Home Improvement."

--Fox: "Beverly Hills 90210."

--WB: "7th Heaven," "The Wayan Brothers," "Smart Guy."

ABOUT Salon.com:

Started as an online magazine three years ago, Salon.com is now a hub for news, arts, entertainment and technology information on the Internet. For more on the report, go to www.salon.com.

TIMELINE

OCTOBER 1997: Congress approves a five-year, $1 billion program to pay for anti-drug advertising. Networks persuaded to sell ads at half-price so government could actually get $2 billion worth of ads. Two- thirds of budget is for TV.

SPRING 1998: With advertising time at a premium, drug office official Alan Levitt and advertising broker decide to credit networks for unused ad spots based on the length of anti-drug episodes and the number of viewers who watched. The networks are then free to resell the ad time.

SUMMER 1998: Government's paid ads begin running on five of the nation's networks.

1998-PRESENT: Drug office officials receive and review copies of scripts and tapes to make sure the storytime ocnforms to anti-drug policy and qualifies for credit.

WINTER 2000: Drug office says number of shows containing anti-drug themes has risen from 32 in March 1999 to 109 this year.

Source: Salon.com

CAPTION(S):

photo, 2 boxes

Photo: (color) `The White House did view scripts. They did sign off on them - they read scripts.' --Rick Mater, WB network's senior vice president for broadcast standards

TV shows involved, clockwise from top left, "ER," "Beverly Hills 90210," "Chicago Hope," "The Practice," and "7th Heaven."

Box: (1) PLAYERS (see text)

(2) TIMELINE (see text)