ABC suits are scrambling to try to contain the mutiny among stations refusing to air tonight's Veterans Day broadcast of the unedited "Saving Private Ryan," citing indecency concerns. Pittsburgh's WTAE was among the stations to pre-empt the telecast. Channel 4 instead this evening aired the movie "Far and Away."

ABC stations owned by Cox Television, Citadel Communications, Belo Corp., Hearst-Argyle (owner of WTAE) and E.W. Scripps, among others, had declined to air the 1998 Academy Award-winning movie. They say they're afraid the film's scenes of extreme violence and intense adult language will lead to sanctions by the Federal Communications Commission under its new, supersize anti-indecency standards.

Ironically, most of them already aired "Saving Private Ryan" when ABC ran it, unedited, to commemorate Veterans Day in 2001 and 2002. Those broadcasts predated the national debut of Janet Jackson's breast at the Super Bowl, for which CBS-owned TV stations will be slapped with a $550,000 indecency fine even though CBS insists it had no prior knowledge of the now infamous "wardrobe malfunction."

ABC has told its affiliate stations it would cover any fine the FCC might choose to impose over the movie broadcast. However, should the FCC fine a station, that could be used against it when its license comes up for renewal.

WTAE general manager Rick Henry said the film's use of the F-word could make the station a target for a fine even though "Private Ryan" has aired on Channel 4 before.

"It's a different social climate, the regulatory climate is different," Henry said. Channel 4 sought permission from ABC to air the film at 10 p.m., but the network would not allow it. Bleeping profanity was also not allowed.

"In an effort to be sensitive to our audience and, at the same time, to comply with legal standards recently established by the FCC for what broadcast stations may and may not broadcast prior to 10 p.m., WTAE-TV has elected not to broadcast 'Saving Private Ryan' due to inappropriate language," Henry wrote in a statement. "The movie possesses significant artistic, social and historical value, and its presentation on Veterans Day at a time our nation is at war is a fitting tribute to the courage and honor of those who so bravely serve and have served in the defense of our nation's freedoms. However, the movie has been recommended by the motion picture industry, itself, for mature audiences only."

On Atlanta's WSB-TV Web site, general manager, Greg Stone cited the FCC's March ruling that it was both indecent and profane when NBC broadcast live Bono exclaiming, "This is really, really [expletive] brilliant!" as he picked up his trophy at the 2003 Golden Globe Awards. That same word comes up often in the movie. The Bono ruling "reversed years of prior policy that the context of language matters," Stone said.

"The F word is getting zero tolerance," Bill Hoffman, general manager of Cox's WFTV, told the Orlando Sentinel Wednesday. "Interest groups are watching stations and vigilantly policing them with respect to indecency."

The network shot an introduction to Thursday night's broadcast, delivered by Sen. John McCain, a Vietnam War veteran and prisoner of war, and Harold Baumgarten, the WWII veteran whose story of being a 19-year-old private landing on the beach at Normandy inspired Steven Spielberg to make this movie.

And, in one of those politics-makes-strange-bedfellows moments, ABC even recruited Parents Television Council pit bull Brent Bozell to put out a statement giving a big thumbs-up to the broadcast.

Bozell is the guy who launched the successful campaign to get the FCC to declare Bono's Golden Globe comment indecent. He's also credited with initiating the letter-writing campaign about the Super Bowl incident that so impressed FCC Chairman Michael Powell. "No television event has ever received as many complaints from the American public - over 540,000 - as the Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show produced by CBS," Powell marveled in his statement accompanying the FCC's announcement it would slap CBS stations with that record-setting fine.

"Context is everything," Bozell says in his statement. "We agreed with the FCC on its ruling that the airing of 'Schindler's List' on television was not indecent and we feel that 'Saving Private Ryan' is in the same category. In both films, the content is not meant to shock, nor is it gratuitous. We applaud ABC for letting viewers know ahead of time about the graphic nature of the film and that the film would be uncut.

"We will not be filing an indecency complaint with the FCC over the airing of this film," Bozell added reassuringly.

Parents Television Council didn't attack ABC stations the first time they aired "Saving Private Ryan." The American Family Association, aka the Rev. Donald Wildmon's conservative watchdog group, did.