Critics say US TV obscenity ruling out of touch

* Parents groups claim victory on U.S. airwaves

* Critics say ruling from a "bygone era" in Internet age

(Note language in book title, paragraph 11)

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES, April 28 (Reuters) - Barbra Streisand made headlines when she said it three years ago, Vice President Dick Cheney caused a stir in 2004 when he uttered the word to a senator but TV mobster Tony Soprano used it constantly.

Yet even a fleeting use of the "F-word" or the "S-word" on U.S. network television remains subject to fines under a Supreme Court split ruling on Tuesday that parent groups hailed but critics said was out of touch with ordinary Americans.

"What's the point of continuing to apply a censorship regime to one of the oldest mediums -- broadcast TV and radio -- when kids are flocking to unregulated mediums in large numbers?," said Adam Thierer, a senior fellow with the Progress and Freedom Foundation think-tank on the digital revolution.

In its first ruling on broadcast indecency standards in more than 30 years, the Supreme Court upheld a U.S. government policy that subjects television network broadcasters to fines if they air a single expletive on the airwaves before 10 p.m.

The Fox NWSa.N television network said it would pursue the case in the lower courts on constitutional free speech grounds.