Yeah, well, who's suprised?

[heidi]

The Sinclair Broadcasting Group, which owns eight ABC affiliates, did not show the film but said "we do not personally believe that this movie is indecent in any manner".

It added in a statement: "We believe the FCC guidelines and ABC's refusal to delay the broadcast require us to pre-empt the movie."

Anyone who's pushing for Sinclair to lose their licenses should add this to their complaint letters to the FCC. More on the ABC affliate preemptions of Saving Private Ryan from the BBC here.

Now, let's briefly look to the words of Sen John McCain, a former Vietnam prisoner of war who introduced the film on ABC. He said the film "comes nowhere near indecent. Saving Private Ryan is a powerful and important depiction of the sacrifices made for our country. While it contains violence and profanity, these are not shown in a gratuitous manner."

L Brent Bozell, who chairs a conservative anti-indecency group, said "context is everything" and the film should be classed alongside Steven Spielberg's Holocaust drama Schindler's List. Of course, newly reelected Oklahoma senator Tom Coburn said a few years back, that in airing Schindler's List, NBC had taken television "to an all-time low, with full-frontal nudity, violence and profanity". He also said the broadcast should outrage parents and decent-minded individuals everywhere.

Now, let's all recall that Saving Private Ryan has been shown on tv twice with no complaint by the FCC, and let's try and guess why it's suddenly a problem now.