PASADENA -- Among the many issues facing the newly appointed president of PBS is the possibility that public TV stations could face crippling fines from the FCC for running Ken Burns' upcoming World War II documentary "The War."

Paula Kerger, who took the helm as president and CEO of PBS in March, told reporters at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour Wednesday that she tried without success in meetings with the five members of the FCC to get assurances that salty language heard from servicemen and others in the docu would not run afoul of the FCC, given the commission's recent crackdown on indecency.

"I can't tell you as I stand here today that I have a clear understanding (of the indecency rules)," Kerger said in her first TCA appearance. "In order to tell some stories, we may need to use language that the FCC may not think is so appropriate."

In March, as part of a broad ruling on dozens of indecency complaints, the FCC levied a $15,000 fine on PBS affiliate KCSM-TV San Mateo, Calif., for airing an hour of the Martin Scorsese-produced docu series "The Blues" in the 9 p.m. hour because some of the interview subjects used such words as "bullshit" and "motherfucker." The FCC's rules allow the commission to regulate indecent or obscene material broadcast on TV and radio stations between 6 a.m.-10 p.m. In June, President Bush signed a law raising the maximum fine for indecency rule violations to $550,000 per incident.

Bleeping out the four-letter words in "War" diminishes the impact of the documentary, Kerger said, and delaying the broadcast until after the 10 p.m. hour would greatly diminish the potential audience for the program. Because of the new rules, PBS already censors some words and even blurs the lips of actors when necessary.

"The American people need to know this is not about Janet Jackson," Kerger said, referring to the 2004 Super Bowl halftime breast-baring incident that spurred the legislative push to increase fines and penalties for indecency violations.

On PBS, any content with strong language or risque content always is preceded by an advisory warning, said Kerger, expressing her frustration with the uncertainty surrounding the docu series from Burns that is set to be the centerpiece of PBS' fall 2007 primetime schedule.

"We're adults," Kerger said. "The content is flagged."

According to FCC practice, the commission doesn't give prebroadcast advisory opinions because that would violate the First Amendment restriction barring the agency from ruling before a broadcast. In 2004, a group of ABC affiliates asked the commission to decide whether a Memorial Day airing of Steven Spielberg's World War II epic "Saving Private Ryan" -- which also featured salty language in combat scenes -- would violate the rules, but the commission refused. On a 5-0 vote last year, the commission ruled that the airing of "Ryan" did not violate the nation's indecency laws.

However, in 2004, the commission ruled that a fleeting use of profanity could trigger a fine. The commission made its decision regarding NBC's 2003 broadcast of the Golden Globe Awards when U2 frontman Bono remarked after winning an award: "This is really, really fucking brilliant." The commission reaffirmed its stance this year with the fines levied on a range of broadcasters, including the "Godfathers and Sons" episode of "The Blues."

As defined by the FCC, material is indecent if it "in context, depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities or organs in a patently offensive manner as measured by contemporary community standards for the broadcast medium." Indecent speech can be aired safely between 10 p.m.-6 a.m.

Indecency wasn't the only topic of discussion for Kerger. Among other news from the session on the penultimate day of the TCA press tour:

  "Frontline" and "American Experience" will collaborate for the first time on a two-episode program, "The Mormons," to air in April.

  PBS has greenlighted a six-hour series, "The Route to Christianity," a co-production of TMC Entertainment and Maya Vision International.

  Based on the success of last season's "Pioneers of Primetime," a documentary about the earliest TV stars, PBS commissioned new docus on the pioneers of variety, comedy, game shows and late-night.

  Select episodes of some PBS programs -- including "Nova," "Antiques Roadshow" and "Arthur" -- are now available for download from Google Video and Open Media Network (www.omn.org). The cost is $1.99 per episode except for "Nova," which costs $7.99.

Brooks Boliek in Washington contributed to this report.