ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE PUTS TV NETWORKS IN HOT WATER

Federal regulators say the TV networks should have named the Office of
National Drug Control Policy as a sponsor of "ER" and other
prime-time shows that included anti-drug messages paid for by the government.

The ruling by the Federal Communications Commission found "no basis
for enforcement action" and does not impose any fine. But it warned
the networks about running afoul of the nation's 73-year-old
"payola" laws, which require that any broadcast "for which money,
service, or other valuable consideration" is received "be announced
as paid for" by a named sponsor.

"Sponsorship identification is required and we caution the networks
to do so in the future," the FCC said in a little-noticed statement
released Friday.

In its ruling, the FCC said the ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox and WB networks
misled viewers about a controversial government advertising scheme
that gave the networks more than $20 million over the past two years
to include anti-drug messages in the scripts of popular TV shows.