SOME KIND OF ANTI-DRUG PAYOLA? L.A. IS BUZZING

The TV biz had a buzz on yesterday after it was disclosed that the White
House Office of National Drug Control Policy had financially rewarded
networks for incorporating anti-drug messages into some of their shows. The
networks were swift to insist they had never ceded script control to the
White House. But the people who produce the shows for the networks said
they felt betrayed.

Peter Roth, president of Warner Bros. Television, which produces the hit
shows "ER," "Friends" and "The West Wing," said, "Never in my career have I
been involved in a situation where in exchange for financial incentive have
we in any way changed the fare of our episodes or our series." Roth, who
also has worked on the network side as head of Fox Broadcasting Co., added:
"I have no intention of doing so in the future."

Gail Berman, president of Regency Television, producer of the acclaimed new
comedy "Malcolm in the Middle," said, "I think it's appalling. It's
inappropriate for government to participate this way in the production of
television."

David Kissinger, president of Studios USA Programming, which produces "Law
& Order," said, "I think it's both wrong and ineffective. In the end, the
best way for television shows to reflect values that as a society we
applaud and want to advance is for the producers to actually care about
them, not have the government impose a value system on them. It's
wrongheaded on every level."

The point of controversy, originally reported by the online magazine Salon,
is that instead of having the drug control office buy air time at special
rates provided under an agreement signed three years ago, the government
approved scripts that contained anti-drug messages, thus freeing up the
lucrative air time to regular advertisers. Salon says the networks have
benefited by about $25 million.