TELEVISION Networks offering even more disclaimers

Warning: Reader discretion advised.
By MAUREEN RYAN
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
A highly unscientific survey of the television dial reveals that there seem to be a whole lot more disclaimers than there were even a year or two ago.
Episodes of mainstream fare such as "House," various "Law & amp; Orders," "24" and "Fear Factor" now regularly carry warnings about the content of various episodes. Even cable shows such as "Rescue Me" and "Waking the Dead" often carry heavy-duty disclaimers about adult material.
A recent "Frontline" documentary on the experiences of soldiers in Iraq was broadcast in Chicago and some other cities with an explicit warning about "very graphic language and graphic imagery," but some PBS affiliates, nervous about possible viewer complaints and Federal Communications Commission scrutiny, chose to air a version in which the profanity was edited out.
Cartoons, too
Even "The Simpsons" affixed a warning to the Feb. 20 episode in which Marge Simpson's sister came out of the closet: "This episode contains discussions of same-sex marriage. Parental discretion is advised."
Why all the warnings?
To increase buzz -- after all, who can resist a program that promises controversial content?
To head off complaints from viewers, who may not complain to the F.C.C. if they're warned about content first. "One of the justifications that the courts have given for greater regulation of language and content on broadcasts is that there's the possibility that the viewer would be surprised," says James Speta, communications law professor at Northwestern University. "The giving of a warning can help the [network] say, 'People should not have been surprised by what happened."'
To get the F.C.C. to go easy on the network, if there is a decency investigation (which the F.C.C. can still initiate, even if a disclaimer was aired). "You can't put a waiver on a program and walk away from liability," says Peter Dekom, a Los Angeles entertainment lawyer. "But it might mitigate the F.C.C.'s perspective at the end of the day."
Indeed, in Feb. 28 ruling, which found that ABC's Nov. 11, 2004, broadcast of "Saving Private Ryan" was not indecent, the F.C.C. said that the fact that "parents had ample warning that this film contained material that might be unsuitable for children" was a factor in the favor of ABC, which broadcast the war film (and several extensive disclaimers about its content).
Still, don't expect the warnings to go away. Given the hefty fines the F.C.C. has been willing to hand out to media firms in the past year or so, "everyone is erring on the side of being extremely conservative," Dekom says.