Re: Anyone Else Upset about House? (RANT)

Hawki <Hawki63@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message:
RTggh.2435$yC5.2009@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx,
I believe House STOLE a script pad from another doctor...sorry...that
is not the way to handle his situation...and as a doctor he knows it..

personally...as a healthcare professional..it has always bothered me
to see him take handfuls of Vics..then go on to be responsible for
diagnosing and treating very ill patients..

yes..I agree he is in severe pain..but downing handfuls of Vics and
stealing script pads is NOT doing the pain community any good...



The problem is that broadcasters get increased ad revenue from the govt
for crafting their programming to demonize any drug use. So whenever
someone on TV is taking drugs for any reason it's always going to lead
to their downfall.

http://archive.salon.com/news/feature/2000/01/13/drugs/
Jan 2000
"Prime-time propaganda"
"How the White House secretly hooked network TV on its anti-drug
message: A Salon special report."

This article is from 2000, but there's every reason to believe that, if
anything, the program has been greatly expanded since then. Everyone
should read the whole story, but here are some key quotes:

"Two years ago, Congress inadvertently created an enormous financial
incentive for TV programmers to push anti-drug messages in their
plots -- as much as $25 million in the past year and a half, with the
promise of even more to come in the future. Under the sway of the office
of President Clinton's drug czar, Gen. Barry R. McCaffrey, some of
America's most popular shows -- including "ER," "Beverly Hills 90210,"
"Chicago Hope," "The Drew Carey Show" and "7th Heaven" -- have filled
their episodes with anti-drug pitches to cash in on a complex government
advertising subsidy."

"With this deal in place, government officials and their contractors
began approving, and in some cases altering, the scripts of shows before
they were aired to conform with the government's anti-drug messages.
"Script changes would be discussed between ONDCP and the show --
negotiated," says one participant."

"Former FCC chief counsel Robert Corn-Revere, now at the law firm Hogan
& Hartson, calls the campaign "pretty insidious. Government
surreptitiously planting anti-drug messages using the power of the purse
raises red flags. Why is there no disclosure to the American public?""

"Ultimately, the ONDCP developed an accounting system to decide which
shows would be valued and for how much. And its officials began to vet
television shows in advance, sometimes suggesting alterations."

"The drug office and its ad buyers received advance copies of the
scripts from most networks, often more than once as a particular episode
developed over time. In some cases, the networks and the office would
wrangle over the changes requested."

"The scheme worked like this: According to a set, numerical formula, the
drug-policy office assigned financial value to each show's anti-drug
message. If the office decided that a half-hour sufficiently pushed an
endorsed anti-drug theme, it got valued at three "units," with each unit
equaling the cost of one 30-second ad on that show. Hour shows
presenting an approved story line were valued at five units..."

"In return for, apparently, several episodes with anti-drug subplots,
highly rated "ER" redeemed $1.4 million worth of time for NBC to be able
to sell elsewhere. "The Practice" recouped $500,000 worth of time for
ABC to sell if it wished. And anti-drug messages woven into "90210"
redeemed between $500,000 and $750,000."

--
Juba
www.masterjuba.com


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