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To: Raymond Duray who wrote (55876)	11/12/2004 7:18:58 AM
From: elmatador	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 74559

Stations Cancel 'Saving Private Ryan' Next they forbid alcohol!! Get ready for Prohibition, Oga! Fearing FCC Sanctions, Stations Cancel 'Saving Private Ryan' November 12, 2004 By Kevin Reece SEATTLE - Dozens of ABC affiliates across the country chose not to air the Academy Award-winning film "Saving Private Ryan" Thursday night fearing backlash from the Federal Communications Commission. KOMO-TV was not among them and aired the brutally graphic and realistic World War II drama in its entirety. The film debuted in 1998 and aired for the first time on ABC television (including KOMO) on Veterans Day in 2001, mostly without protest even though it's battle scenes are visually realistic and laced with profanity. But by ABC's own count as many as 65 of it's more than 200 affiliates chose not to air the film this tim year Prior to the infamous Janet Jackson "wardrobe malfunction" at the Super Bowl and U2 frontman Bono's use of the F-word at an awards show, the FCC took a more lenient stance on profanity and the context in which it was being used. "Saving Private Ryan" aired un-edited twice before on network television without much complaint since it's use of violence and profanity were considered within the context of war. But after Jackson and Bono the FCC appears to be reversing the policy that held that expletives when used in a non-sexual content, during late night broadcast hours, would be acceptable. Station owners say the FCC's unclear direction on the issue is creating confusion and fear. "Those changes have really put broadcasters in an tough position to decided what's acceptable or not, and what can be broadcast or not," said Ray Cole of Citadel Communications which owns three stations in the midwest. ABC's contract with director Steven Spielberg said the movie had to air un-edited. Many of the stations asked that the program be moved to 10 p.m. instead of the 8 p.m. start time but ABC refused. Stations like WSOC in Charlotte, North Carolina, which chose to air the Eddie Murphy movie "Coming to America" instead, sited recent FCC rulings about the "safe haven" family viewing concept up until that 10pm barrier as their reason for not airing the movie. Stations fearing heavy fines and the potential loss of broadcast licenses when they come up for renewal said they wouldn't take the chance with the violence and profanity. The ABC affiliates who chose to air alternate programming included stations in Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, Milwaukee, and Orlando. But for KOMO-TV, which first aired the movie in 2001, the broadcast went ahead as planned airing from 8pm and ending at 11:20pm. "I'll gladly take the risk of having to defend putting on a major Academy Award-winning movie on Veterans Day," said KOMO-TV General Manager Dick Warsinske. "I'll fight that fight."