Media Savvy: United against meth

Next week, six Sacramento-area TV stations will hit the pause button in their normally cutthroat battle for viewers. This cease-fire will happen for only a half-hour, at 6:30 p.m. March 26, but it nonetheless is an extraordinary step.

They have all agreed to air the same program at the same time. Commercial-free, to boot.

That will mean – for one night only – no Dave and Lois delivering news on Channel 3, no Alex Trebek and "Jeopardy!" on News10, no "Judge Judy" on Channel 31 in that time slot. No "Seinfeld," "Friends" or "Entertainment Tonight" on other local channels, either.

Whoa. Whatever this program is, it had better be important.

It is.

Sacramento will be the fifth television market to air "Crystal Darkness," a public-service documentary dealing with the use and abuse of methamphetamine, and how it affects families, taxes law enforcement and impacts the entire community.

Originally produced for Reno TV stations in January 2007, "Crystal Darkness" used interviews with addicts from all walks of life, graphic images of the damage done and sobering violent-crime statistics. It also provided a toll-free number for people to get help.

The program that ran on all Reno stations proved so popular, says producer Mike Reynolds, a Reno advertising executive, that other communities sought localized versions of the documentary.

In May in Las Vegas, 50 percent of the households tuned in to the documentary, according Nielsen ratings. In August, 25 stations in five Oregon cities broadcast the documentary, and newspaper reports say the toll-free number was flooded with calls. And in December, San Diego stations blanketed the airwaves.

Now, it's Sacramento's turn.

Reynolds and his staff spent a week in January interviewing inmates at the Sacramento and Yolo county jails and area families torn asunder by the drug. Attorney General Jerry Brown, Sacramento Police Chief Rick Braziel and Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig are among those area officials interviewed.

What separates "Crystal Darkness" from other anti-drug shows is that all the local stations choose to air it in what TV types call a "roadblock."

"That turns it into a community event," Reynolds says. "Viewers think, 'Wow, all the stations are working on it together. There must be something significant. I'd better watch.' "

The tricky part, he says, is persuading TV station executives, who live and die according to ratings and advertising revenue, to cooperate.

Turns out, in Sacramento, it wasn't difficult.

Elliott Troshinsky, president of Channel 3 and sister station My58TV, says he didn't hesitate giving up air time, even though KCRA's 6:30 p.m. news with Dave Walker and Lois Hart is top-rated in that slot.

"We believe that we have a public-service responsibility and an opportunity to assist our law enforcement agencies in educating our community on the extremely harmful effects that drugs, and especially the alarming rate of growth of methamphetamine use in our area, have on all of us," Troshinsky says via e-mail.

By the same token, "Crystal Darkness" producers didn't even have to make a pitch to Bruno Cohen, president of channels 13 and 31.

"As soon as they mentioned the topic, I was on board," Cohen says. "Yes, we're taking off 'Entertainment Tonight' and 'Judge Judy,' which does huge (ratings). But we'll figure out how to get the advertisers committed to these shows to understand."

Channel 19, Sacramento's Spanish-language station, will not air the documentary on March 26, a Wednesday night, because it conflicts with its Univision network news; Channel 19 will run the documentary at 11:30 a.m. March 29, a Saturday, according to a station spokeswoman.

Regardless, Sacramento County Sheriff John McGinnis, who was interviewed for the documentary, says the media buy-in is crucial to have an impact.

"You need something like this to get the point across," McGinnis says. "You have to be honest and graphic with people to show how it affects the whole community. Meth is a major component in violent crime and it was involved in three of the four shootings (of officers) we've had in our department."

About the writer:

• Call The Bee's Sam McManis, (916) 321-1145, or e-mail smcmanis@sacbee.com. Read his blog postings at 21Q (www.sacbee.com/21q).