STUDIO BOSSES BLAST ANTI-DRUG MESSAGE EFFORT

PASADENA, Calif.--The bosses of several studios that produce
prime-time TV shows said Friday they are angry that the networks had
been working with President Clinton's drug policy adviser to insert
anti-drug messages into programs.

Five studio heads, responsible for shows such as "ER," "The Drew Carey
Show" and "The Simpsons," all said they were unaware the networks were
offered financial incentives by the government if certain programs
preached against drugs.

"I think it's appalling," said Gail Berman, president of Regency
Television, which makes "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Roswell." "It's
inappropriate for government to participate in this way in the
production of television."

Clinton's drug advisers said they had consulted with "ER" writers and
that they believed a recent episode in which a teenager came into the
emergency room suffering from alcohol abuse was a result of their efforts.

Peter Roth, president of Warner Brothers Television, which makes "ER"
for NBC, said neither he nor "ER" producer John Wells was aware of the
government's efforts. Roth said he never would demand that his
producers or writers reflect a particular point of view on a social
issue, even if there were a financial benefit.

Clinton denied that his drug office was trying to rob TV networks of
creative freedom through the policy.

"There was no attempt to regulate content or tell people what they had
to put into it," he said Friday. "Of course, I wouldn't support that."

The government spends millions of dollars a year to buy ads on network
TV for anti-drug public service announcements. Recently, it has been
forfeiting some of the time it bought if the networks could prove they
inserted anti-drug messages into programs. That enables the networks
to make more money by selling ad time to other clients.

ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox and the WB all acknowledge letting the White House
review scripts of some of their programs.

Officials from Clinton's drug office were in Pasadena on Friday to
release a study that concludes television generally does better than
movies or music when it comes to depicting drug, alcohol and tobacco
use responsibly. The study encompassed a period in which the officials
were working with the networks to get their message across.