Whiskey,...Tango,..Foxtrot,...?

14 1/2 hours of 'War', 4 profane utterances

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post

WASHINGTON - Ken Burns' PBS documentary The War, which has weathered complaints from Latinos about their World War II contributions' being underrepresented, is now prompting responses from another group: managers of public TV stations.

The stations are concerned that four words of profanity in the 14 1/2-hour documentary that starts Sept. 23 could subject them to hefty indecency fines from the Federal Communications Commission.

Their worries have prompted PBS to take the unprecedented step of distributing two versions of The War for broadcast: Burns' original film and an FCC-friendly version from which the profanity has been removed. (Local PBS station WHYY TV12 did not respond to an e-mail query about which version will air here.)

The profanity could subject a station to a $325,000 indecency fine if broadcast between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.

In two instances, the words are spoken by former American soldiers as they describe the meaning of the common military euphemisms "snafu" and "fubar," as well as some combat experiences. The other two words refer to a body part and excrement.

In the edited version, the soundtrack briefly goes silent when the profanities are uttered.

In an interview, Burns called the soldiers' comments "four incredibly appropriate words." He added, "It's what soldiers in battle say, and not just during World War II."

But Burns said he agreed with PBS's decision to distribute two versions of the film, given the stations' "understandable anxiety."

The issue is more than just an artistic or historical question for Burns. His company, Florentine Films, has agreed to insure public TV stations for their legal costs in the event the FCC opens an indecency proceeding against any of them for airing The War.

With 348 public stations likely to show the much-anticipated film, the company's financial risk could be enormous.

Recent FCC indecency decisions have left Burns and others in public television guessing about how the agency might rule. In perhaps the most relevant case, the FCC ruled in 2002 that Steven Spielberg's gritty World War II film Saving Private Ryan was not indecent when it aired on ABC stations.

The FCC declared that the film's language was not "pandering, titillating or vulgar," given the depiction of intense combat.

Last year, though, the FCC levied a $15,000 fine against KCSM, a small public station in San Mateo, Calif., for airing an episode of The Blues that contained repeated profanities. The FCC ruled that the language in the Martin Scorsese-directed documentary about blues musicians was gratuitous.

An FCC spokesman said the agency didn't prejudge any broadcast and declined further comment.

The TrekMedic utters (without fear from the FCC):

First off,..war is hell! People don't whisper "Oh, golly gosh, darn! My leg just blow off!" Its no different than the people who exclaimed "Oh, Shit!" when the WTC were hit on 9/11. Given that the source of this article is the WaPO and involves the PCBS (Politically-Correct Broadcasting Service),..the TrekMedic exclaims: