Fearing possible FCC indecency fines, several ABC affiliates pree...

and Atlanta said FCC policies on programming broadcast before 10 p.m., including the Janet Jackson Super Bowl ruling, prompted the stations not to show the movie. WOI-TV ran the film uncut in 2001 and 2002. “The inconsistent manner in which the FCC is choosing to apply these rules puts TV stations like ours in a most difficult position,” WOI-TV Pres. Ray Cole said in a statement. ABC agreed to indemnify any affiliate for any FCC fines issued for broadcasting the film, a network spokeswomen said. But Cole said with the current Commission the station didn’t know if the film’s intense language and violence would pass FCC indecency guidelines in prime time. KHGI-TV said it “reluctantly” made the decision to preempt the program, having been denied the chance to edit the profane language in the film. “That movie was praised almost universally for its ability to categorize the war,” said MPAA Pres. Dan Glickman at an Media Institute lunch Wed. Glickman said if he were an FCC commissioner, he wouldn’t fine the stations. NAB said the stations’ actions are reflective of the “dilemma” that many stations are facing with FCC indecency rules. Media Access Project Pres. Andrew Schwartzman agreed. “When you come up with whip cream and nipple regulations, you are going to find more managers nervous about what they're allowed to air,” he said, referring to recent FCC rulings. The Parents TV Council (PTC) said it wouldn’t object to the uncut film, just as it didn’t object to another Steven Spielberg work, Schindler’s List. “In both films, the content is not meant to shock, nor is it gratuitous,” PTC Pres. Brent Bozell said in a statement.