ACLU Blames FCC For 'War' Objectors
By John Eggerton -- Broadcasting & Cable, 8/27/2007 10:55:00 AM
The American Civil Liberties Union says some public TV stations' reluctance to air Ken Burns' World War II documentary, TheWar, over a handful of profanities "clearly settles any question about the chilling effect" of what it called the FCC's "vague and contradictory indecency regime."
The FCC found a PBS documentary on the blues indecent for its profanities, but concluded similar language in Saving Private Ryan was not indecent. The FCC has said there was a difference between an interviewer or subject using the words and their use in context by soldiers in the heat of battle, even though the first instance was a documentary and the second a work of fiction.
“To impede the First Amendment rights of those who fought and died for those very rights is reprehensible," said ACLU Washington legislative director Caroline Fredrickson in a statement. "Our public broadcasters should not be afraid to air fourteen hours of an educational and fact-based documentary because of a handful of profanities. Images of the brutality of war are far more disturbing than any four letter word."
Jan McNamara says PBS has no way of tracking just how many stations may not air the show, aire an edited version, or move the airing to after 10 p.m., when indecent speech is allowed by the FCC. She said she has heard from only one station, KQED San Francisco, which says it will use the edited version in prime time and the unedited version in the post-10 p.m. safe harbor. In the unedited version, the terms SNAFU and FUBAR are defined, necessitating the use of the F-word, and there is one s-word and one a-word reference.
The War is also catching some flak from Hispanic groups, who have criticized the show for its absence of the voices of Hispanic veterans or a recognition of their contribution. Burns has said he would remedy the omission, though National Hispanic Media Coalition head Alex Nogales said last week that he was concerned Burns would not honor his pledge and said if the show, which debuts Sept. 23, does not sufficiently include the contributions of Hispanics within the documentary itself, the group reserves the right to take "very punitive" action.
He also said NHMC has been working with PBS to make sure such omissions "never happen again."
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Hi, Excellent story on the Ken Burns Documentary, "The War" and the FCC's confused way of handling language included. The one thing I wanted to point out is that you have a slightly incorrect take on the subject matter's description. A "profanity" is something profane and denigrating to a deity, such as "god damn" or "go to hell". The words "f*ck" and "sh*t" are actually "obscenities". The FCC certainly knows the difference and the clarification in the article would help the reader, though we are told toward the end of the article what some of the specific words or phrases are. Otherwise, a very informative piece. It's amazing how showing bloody violence is oddly acceptable to the FCC and other groups, though simple words cause such a stir. Thanks.
Doug Rossire - 9/10/2007 9:23:00 AM EDT -
Again, the FCC wishes to force taxpayers to foot the bill for technology that taxpayers have already paid for. V-chip and parental controls are sufficient enough (if used) to stop unwanted programming into the home. It's silly that a documentary about war is coming under more fire than a fiction about war. It's also silly that the American public would rather have killings in their home than love-making. Frankly, I'd rather have people F-wording than k-wording on my television. Again, this is from the FCC having too much power in congress and across the communications bandwidth.
Brad Hamlin - 8/28/2007 12:04:00 PM EDT -
It looks to me like the ACLU should be protecting Ken Burns'' rights to present his documentary the way HE wants to. National Hispanic Media Coalition head Alex Nogales should be worrying about jobs and the quality of life of his constituents instead of harassing a film maker to include more Hispanics. There is no difference between his demanding a change in the film than the FCC requiring edits.
I have a feeling that no matter what or how much Mr Burns puts in, no group, including the National Hispanic Media Coalition will be satisfied.
Free Speach means FREE - 8/28/2007 11:01:00 AM EDT
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