PAPERS, TOO, RAN ADS IN ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN

U.S. demands on networks drew blistering criticism

WASHINGTON -- The New York Times took quite a whack at the White House
drug-policy adviser and the networks for cooperating on anti-drug efforts,
saying in its lead editorial Tuesday that such arrangements could lead to
``the possibility of censorship and state-sponsored propaganda.''

But it turns out the Times also has a cooperative relationship with the
drug-control office and received financial benefits in exchange for
activities in conjunction with the White House.

``I knew absolutely nothing about this,'' Howell Raines, the Times
editorial-page editor, said Wednesday. ``If I had known, I would have
mentioned it in the editorial.''

The Times has plenty of company. The drug office says it is spending $11.3
million in the current 12-month period to advertise in 250 newspapers, and
that $893,000 of that money is being spent on the Times, USA Today and the
Washington Post. And White House officials say that in three cases -- two of
them involving the Times and the Post -- newspapers were granted $200,000 in
financial credits that reduced the amount of public service ads they are
required to provide under the program.

A senior Mercury News advertising official said he was not aware of any such
deals involving the Mercury News.

The six major broadcast networks have drawn criticism for allowing the drug
office to review scripts and tapes, with the government in some cases making
suggestions before the programs aired. But the arrangement with newspapers
is different in one key respect: Both White House officials and newspaper
executives say the administration deals only with advertising and does not
examine news stories either before or after they are published.

Still, there are monetary incentives to play ball. Under a 1997 law, once
the drug office decides to advertise on a network or in a newspaper, the
media outlet is required to donate a comparable amount of air time or space
for public-service ads. In practice, say executives at Ogilvy, the drug
office's advertising agency, newspapers fulfill their requirement by
providing a 50 percent discount on the ads, which typically include two
full-page displays and 12 smaller ads in the course of a year.

Ogilvy executives say they are spending an additional $9 million on
anti-drug advertising in magazines, including Time, Newsweek, People,
Reader's Digest, Better Homes & Gardens and Family Circle. They also say
they have an arrangement with America Online to carry anti-drug messages.

After the controversy about the networks erupted last week, Barry McCaffrey,
the White House drug-policy adviser, issued new guidelines under which the
government will no longer review individual programs until after the
episodes have been aired. ABC executives had said they were ending their
cooperation because the administration was requiring them to provide the
episodes in advance.