GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-DRUG DEALS WITH THE NETWORKS MUST STOP

'Must-see TV' takes on new meaning

Barry McCaffrey: Drug Czar or Minister of Propaganda?

Turns out the general in charge of the U.S. war on drugs is a little
of both.

According to reports first appearing in the on-line magazine Salon,
the government, with the help of network executives willing to sell
their integrity, has overseen the implantation of anti-drug messages
in TV series like "ER," "Chicago Hope" and "Beverly Hills 90210."

If the Communists were doing it - inserting speeches damning
"bourgeois capitalist running dogs" in a Beijing cop drama, for
example - we'd call it brainwashing. Here it's just good politics -
and good business.

This is how the scheme works. Two years ago, Congress authorized $1
billion to be spent on anti-drug advertising - but the networks had to
provide one free spot for each ad paid for by the government.
Recently, with advertising rates going up, the networks were unhappy
at the money they were losing, so the government allowed them to
exchange anti-drug stories in the TV series for the free ads.

So on a "Smart Guy" show on the WB network, two kids who did drugs
were portrayed as losers instead of cool and popular, as in the
original script. A "Chicago Hope" featured a rave in which
substance-abusing attendees suffered rape, psychosis, a car wreck and
death. "Sports Night" included an incident of a fatal car crash
because of alcohol and pot. We were absorbing government-approved
messages about drugs without knowing that the networks were getting
paid for them. President Clinton doesn't understand what the fuss is
about. Who could be against anti-drug messages?

But think about this: What if a TV show that has an abortion storyline
were to make a deal with a special interest group to promote one view
of abortion over another? What if government paid money to insert a
dying character into a show in order to tell the story of how
important it is to pass "right to die" legislation?

We need to know that we aren't being manipulated by TV - that is, any
more than the standard run-of-the-mill beauty stereotypes,
consumerism, and cynicism. The government and the TV networks should
end this arrangement now.

Networks would scream "First Amendment" if the government were to try
to force them to insert messages into drama series. They shouldn't be
excused for abandoning artistic integrity just because the price was
right.