cannabisnews.com: White House Takes Anti-Drug Message To Hollywood 










  White House Takes Anti-Drug Message To Hollywood 

Posted by FoM on July 12, 2000 at 12:16:06 PT
Reuters 
Source: Media Central 

The White House, clearly unfazed by the flap that followed news that it quietly struck deals with major television networks to insert anti-drug messages into prime-time programs, is now taking its campaign against recreational drug use to Hollywood.   Federal officials will work with Hollywood studios as well as with directors and writers to promote films and videos that ''responsibly communicate (anti-drug) campaign messages,'' White House ``drug czar'' Barry McCaffrey told Congress on Tuesday. 
   ``As powerful as television is, some experts believe that movies have an even stronger impact on young people,'' McCaffrey said in testimony before the House Government Reform Committee.   ``To impact film, the campaign will work closely with major studios, as well as the individual writers and directors, who are the driving force behind what is seen on the screen,'' he said. ``Though continuous dialogue, we believe we can raise awareness about how images of substance abuse in the movies impact audiences, particularly young audiences.''   McCaffrey unapologetically acknowledged earlier this year that his White House Office of National Drug Control Policy had given millions of dollars in financial credits to major television networks in return for including anti-drug messages in popular TV programs like ``E.R.'' and ``Beverly Hills 90210.''   The disclosure, which prompted criticism from Congress and civil liberties groups and concern in the media, grew out of the approval by Congress in 1997 of a $1 billion, five-year advertising campaign targeted at young drug users.   Most of the money was supposed to be spent on television commercials, but the government instead cut deals under which it agreed to provide advertising credits if the networks agreed to work the anti-drug messages into episodes of popular television shows. In April the controversy was revived with the disclosure that several newspapers and magazines had received similar credits after publishing articles with positive anti-drug messages.   McCaffrey rode out the furor and defended the practice. He argued that the government had not used its financial leverage to interfere with the creative process or independence of the media, but it had helped to reduce drug use.   ``However, the creative process for producing a film is dramatically different than that for television,'' McCaffrey said in his testimony to Congress.   ``Scripts are often years in development and they may not ever get made. As a result, the campaign takes a long-term view in working with filmmakers and understands that we may not see concrete results for several years.''   His office also plans to use a ``group of celebrities'' -- all of whom have donated their services -- to pitch the anti-drug message. ``The technique is particularly effective with young people, who frequently try to emulate the looks, behavior and attitude of their favorite stars,'' he said.  Washington (Reuters)Web Posted: July 11, 2000 © 2000 Media CentralRelated Articles:White House Wants Films To Add Anti-Drug Messages http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6369.shtmlDrug Czar Wants To Reopen The Cookie Jar http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6361.shtmlDrug Czar To Target Film Themes http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread6354.shtmlPropaganda for Dollars http://cannabisnews.com/news/thread4317.shtml 

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Comment #4 posted by FoM on July 13, 2000 at 21:38:53 PT
We Can Do That 
Thank You Mitchell!Here is My Main Index Page and the What's New page is on this page. I have a friend that makes me really cool graphics and I'm going to ask him to make me a banner for my What's New Page. When we get that done I will add your page when I update it. I need to take time and pay attention and make sure I keep up with it but I'm sure I'm not. I'll let you know when it is updated and then in the future when it is the way it should be I'll see if Ron could link it to CannabisNews. This will take some time but it probably can be done. Any possible web sites that I am missing that are good and active please let me know.Peace, FoM!
My Main Index Page
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Comment #3 posted by Mitchell on July 13, 2000 at 04:27:34 PT:
Thanks FoM!
Sure you can post this on the What's New Section or anything else of mine you see around that you think fits. I'd like to get the URL for that What's New Section for my own bookmarks. Mitchell 
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Comment #2 posted by FoM on July 12, 2000 at 20:28:49 PT

Thank You Mitchell

Hello Mitchell,Thank you for sharing your work here on CannabisNews. I am not a writer but I admire people that can write. I have a What's New page and when I update it I will put your page on it if that is ok. We have so many different ideas and ways of approaching the drug war here and I am really pleased. I don't think I could have picked a nicer group of people. I'm very appreciative.Thanks FoM!
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Comment #1 posted by Mitchell on July 12, 2000 at 20:00:29 PT:

The Cue Card That Pays You Cash

THE CUE CARD THAT PAYS YOU CASH! “What would you do if you were given $1 billion dollars to spend convincing Americans, especially young people, to stay away from illegal drugs?” No, this is not a hypothetical question posed to some America’s Junior Miss finalist. That’s how much General Barry McCaffrey and the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has been given as part of their “five year plan” to alter our perceptions about the nature of those drugs which are illegal. Maybe the ONDCP should keep the acronym but change its name to the Office of National Drug Control Propaganda. According to a report from the Scripps Howard News Service: “McCaffrey said the program has been altered this year, and he will no longer review scripts in advance, or give payments for writers to insert anti-drug themes in scripts. Instead, payments will reward writers and producers who send the anti-drug message only after the movies or TV shows are released.“McCaffrey said up-front payments might interfere in the ‘creative process’ of making a film, but post-release rewards would not. ‘I'm not going to inject a message in a film,’ he insisted.”Of course, having G-Men show up with suitcases full of cash at the DreamWorks studio dishing out the dough for last year’s box office bomb might be a bit unseemly, even for the ONDCP. So instead, amabong.com has learned, one ONDCP official has proposed a new award along the lines of the Emmys, the Oscars, and the Grammys for “artfulness" in weaving anti-drug message into Hollywood scripts.A private memo circulated among ONDCP staff members, and diverted to amabong.com by an anonymous source, indicates that the agency has gone so far as to select a name for the award, “The Fridays” after Sergeant Joe (“Ma’am we found your son chewing the bark off a tree”) Friday on Dragnet. The memo also includes proposed categories and cash awards. The ONDCP has even drawn up a “mock up” of a proposed Events Show to be held in Nashville, Tennessee in March of 2001 along with a model for the “official program" Most Sympathetic Portrayal of an Undercover Narcotics OfficerJohn TravoltaRobert DeNiroKevin SpaceyBeevis Best Dragnet MarathonTV LandNick At NightTV Land Nick At NightMost Ennobling Characterization of a Beleaguered Drug Czar Who Is Just Trying to Do Right By The Kids Damn It.BeevisButtheadJohn RockerTheodore KaczynskiBest Crack HeadJean Claud Van Damme John Cougar MellencampLong Dong SilverButtheadBest Lethargic Skinny Shouldered Pot Head With No Drive No Goals No Appointment to a Military Academy No Car Saturday Night Mister You Go Straight To Your Room Don’t Give Me That Look Or You’ll Be Grounded For A Month Again Jesus I Don’t Know What’s Gotten Into That Kid Lately. Sean PennBob DenverBeckMichael RappaportBest Disaffected Inner City YouthBill Cosby Bill CosbyFat AlbertBill CosbyBest Pro-Drug ActivistDanny DeVitoRoseanneElviraMartin LandauBest O.D.Danny DeVitoRoseanneElviraMartin LandauBest Crack BabyThe Olsen TwinsDrew BarrymoreChristine Aguilera Brittney Spears“As powerful as television is, some experts believe that movies have an even stronger impact on young people,” McCaffrey said in testimony before the House Government Reform Committee. “To impact film, the campaign will work closely with major studios, as well as the individual writers and directors, who are the driving force behind what is seen on the screen,” he said. “Through continuous dialogue, we believe we can raise awareness about how images of substance abuse in the movies impact audiences, particularly young audiences.'”Mitchell Greentower
http://www.amabong.com
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