STOP SURREPTITIOUS PROPAGANDA

Government propaganda works best when the government is not identified
with it. That probably explains why the White House was delighted to
enter a cozy -- and secret -- little arrangement under which the
television networks received a financial break for injecting
pre-approved anti-drug messages into television programming. None dare
call it censorship, but in some ways it poses an even more invidious
threat to the First Amendment.

As part of this Faustian bargain, the White House was able to
surreptitiously influence the television industry's cultural message
to young viewers, and the television networks pocketed millions of
dollars saved from not having to give valuable commercial time over to
public service announcements.

The script review program came into being after Congress decided in
1997 to fund an extensive anti-drug advertising campaign. But rather
than pay full price for advertising, Congress required media outlets
to match any advertising time purchased by the government with free
public service time.

Because advertising sales were slow, the networks didn't balk
initially, but then the advertising dollars of the "dot coms" started
to arrive. So the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy
and the networks struck a deal: Credit toward the public service
announcements would be given when television programs delivered
pre-approved anti-drug messages.

The deal was apparently so attractive that all of the major networks
participated in the program, collectively saving more than $20-
million. Government officials were given television scripts in advance
and occasionally made suggestions about how an anti-drug message
might be strengthened.

The problem with the script review program is not the anti-drug
message, but the method used to convey it. The government should be
free to buy public service ads that are clearly marked as such. But
the mass media shouldn't be used to deliver government propaganda
under the radar screen. That's a violation of the public trust.

Yet, the government isn't the biggest villain here. While the
government is at fault for its end run around the First Amendment, the
real culprits are the networks that were willing to compromise their
creative soul for a few shillings.

In response to criticism, the White House has announced that it will
modify the program. Rather than review scripts before production, the
drug control policy office will give credit to shows with approved
messages after they have aired.

While the change certainly reduces the government's direct
interference in the creative process, it doesn't go far enough. To
qualify for those valuable credits, networks will still be on the
lookout for scripts that satisfy drug control officials.

Rather than fiddle with the program at the margins, the government and
the television networks should pull the plug on it.