PBS HEAD DECRIES FCC'S OBSCENITY RULES.

Byline: David Kronke Television Critic

As far as new PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger is concerned, the Federal Communications Commission is full of (expletive deleted).

When an interviewee in Martin Scorsese's documentary miniseries ``The Blues'' had the temerity to use a common schoolyard epithet referring to poop, the FCC leveled a San Mateo PBS member station with a draconian fine on the basis of one viewer complaint. That, and the FCC's unwillingness to present clear guidelines for what it considers punishable obscenity, has a chilling effect on PBS' ability to present mature material for adult viewers, Kerger fears.

``Given that some stations operate on a budget of a couple of million dollars, the FCC's fines now could put stations out of business,'' Kerger warned critics covering the semiannual TV press tour in Pasadena. ``We cannot afford for that to happen.''

Kerger, who ascended to PBS' top position in March, said the FCC's ambiguity is particularly worrisome for acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns' World War II film ``The War,'' set to air in the fall of 2007. In Burns' documentary, veterans will describe their experiences in ways that Kerger called ``very powerful'' and verbally graphic.

``I could not get anyone to say to me that the Ken Burns film was OK,'' she said. ``I met with each commissioner. There's a great deal of misunderstanding. They have not thought through the ramifications for our work.

``This is not sensationalist work; this is not salacious work,'' she continued. ``We are trying to do good work. We need to be letting the American people know (the FCC's) not just (punishing stations over the antics of) Janet Jackson. ... It's paralyzing.

``If you look at a piece of footage, edited and unedited, sometimes it doesn't matter, and sometimes there's a pivotal difference,'' she said. ``The impact of it is washed away if it's bleeped out. We're adults. We know people are sensitive, and they should have the opportunity not to watch something if it would be troubling to them. But it's important for others to be able to see this documentary and let people tell their stories and not be censored. That's why this is such a big issue. This is programming for adults, it will be labeled that way, and we should have the opportunity to broadcast that.

``It's important for public broadcasting not to roll over on this. ... We, as an industry, must stand together and be bold.''

David Kronke, [phone]

david.kronke(at)dailynews.com

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- 2 -- color) Enjoying Fox's Summer Send Off Party on Tuesday in Pasadena are Courteney Cox and husband David Arquette, above, and ``House's'' Hugh Laurie, below left, and Robert Sean Leonard, below right, with ``Justice'' star Victor Garber.

Rene Macura/Associated Press