FIRST OFF

An official of the Southern California chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union said Monday that the rights group will defend radio station KPFK-FM if it is charged with broadcasting obscene programming. ACLU executive Duncan Donovan said at a Los Angeles news conference that the Federal Communciations Commission’s crackdown last week on the station’s broadcast of the gay-oriented play “Jerker” was a “dreadful infringement of the First Amendment.” The FCC has referred the Aug. 31, 1986, broadcast to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. Donovan said the ACLU “will do what we can to help” if the government pursues a case against KPFK.