The American Civil Liberties Union blames the FCC for making some public television stations fearful of running the Ken Burns documentary "The War" because of four expletives in the 14-hour series. The ACLU charges that is due to the Commission’s "vague and inconsistent" standard for broadcast indecency. "To impede the First Amendment rights of those who fought and died for those very rights is reprehensible. 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," said Caroline Fredrickson, Director of the ACLU’s Washington Legislative Office. "This clearly settles any question about the chilling effect of the FCC’s vague and contradictory indecency regime. Broadcasters should not have to guess whether or not a work is ‘indecent,’ and face substantial fines if they guess wrong. When it comes to what we allow our children to see on television, parents must be the first line of defense – not the government," she continued.
RBR observation: Sounds like what we have been saying for years.
