January 12, 2000

The Honorable Michael G. Oxley					
U.S. House of Representatives
2233 Rayburn House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515

Dear Congressman Oxley:

This responds to your letter of January 6, 2000, regarding the Commission's recent 
decision approving the application for assignment of license of WQEX(TV) Channel 16, 
Pittsburgh, PA, from WQED Pittsburgh to Cornerstone TeleVision, Inc., and the application for 
assignment of license of WPCB-TV, Channel 40, Greensburg, PA, from Cornerstone to Paxson 
Pittsburgh License, Inc.  (In short, Cornerstone sought and was granted authority to move from 
Channel 40 to Channel 16, and to sell Channel 40 to Paxson.)

Three salient points stand out in this decision:

?	The FCC granted the Cornerstone application, and denied the petitions of those 
who sought to block the deal based on the religious nature of some of Cornerstone's 
programming.

?	The standards used by the Commission to determine whether a broadcaster 
qualifies for a reserved noncommercial educational ("NCE")  television channel do not 
apply to the large majority of television broadcasters offering religious programming 
because they use channels that are not reserved for NCE stations, i.e., commercial 
channels.

?	In a small number of cases, religious-oriented broadcasters have requested that 
they be certified as NCE TV broadcasters and thereby they become subject to the 
standards of an NCE TV station.  These standards, however, never operate to prohibit the 
airing of any particular noncommercial programming, religious or otherwise.

The FCC Granted the Application

This matter arose out of Cornerstone's application to acquire the license of Channel 16, 
one of two stations in Pittsburgh expressly reserved for NCE stations.  Opponents of the 
transaction claimed that Cornerstone intended to use the channel for religious programming that 
did not qualify as educational.  The FCC rejected these arguments and granted Cornerstone's 
application.  The FCC stated that certain programming dealing with religious matters can also be 
deemed educational and thus satisfy the eligibility requirements for NCE channels.  

The NCE Standards Apply Only When NCE Certification is Requested, and Do Not Apply to 
Most Religious Broadcasters

Since 1952, the Commission has reserved a limited number of television channels for 
educational broadcasters, including Channel 16 in Pittsburgh. Indeed, Congress has, from time to 
time, directed the Commission not to diminish the number of channels reserved for NCE use.   In 
granting Cornerstone's application, the Commission clarified the requirements that apply to 
Cornerstone and any other broadcaster, religious or otherwise, seeking Commission certification 
as an educational television broadcaster eligible for a reserved NCE channel.  The Commission 
thus did not single out religious broadcasters, but rather clarified standards applicable to all NCE 
broadcasters.  In fact, the large majority of broadcasters offering religious-oriented programming 
are exempt from the NCE eligibility requirements described in the Cornerstone decision because 
they use commercial channels that are not reserved for NCE stations, and thus are not subject to 
the NCE eligibility requirements. 

Cornerstone itself would remain exempt from the NCE requirements as long as it 
operates on Channel 40 or any other commercial channel.  Cornerstone becomes subject to the 
NCE requirements only by virtue of its decision to move to NCE Channel 16.  Cornerstone never 
contended that it was exempt from the NCE standards due to the religious nature of some of its 
programming.  To the contrary, Cornerstone specifically acknowledged the applicability of, and 
its intention to abide by, the NCE eligibility requirements that apply to Channel 16.

The Cornerstone Decision Followed Well-Established FCC Policies

Applicants seeking to use NCE-reserved television channels have always been required 
to demonstrate that their programming will be "primarily educational" in nature and thus serve 
the educational purpose for which the channel was reserved.  The Commission's decision in this 
case therefore does not establish new rules, but simply clarifies long-standing FCC policy 
applicable to any broadcaster seeking to use an NCE-reserved channel.  The decision  followed 
and cited prior Commission decisions in describing what kinds of religious programming would 
qualify as educational.  See, e.g., Way of the Cross of Utah, Inc., 101 FCC2d 1368, 1372, n. 5 
(1985).

The NCE Standards Never Prohibit Particular Programming From Being Aired Based On Its 
Religious Nature

 	Even under this long-established standard, there is no specific programming, religious or 
otherwise, that is barred from being aired on an NCE channel since the "primarily educational" 
benchmark applies to the overall program schedule in the aggregate.  This means that religious 
programming of any nature may be aired on an NCE channel, although not all such programming 
will necessarily count towards the benchmark.  Thus, a complaint alleging simply that an NCE 
broadcaster is airing some religious programming would be summarily dismissed by the FCC 
since noncommercial programming of any nature is permissible on an NCE channel, as long as 
more than half of the overall weekly program schedule serves "an educational, instructional or 
cultural purpose in the station's community of license."

Procedural Issue

I note that these applications are part of an ongoing restricted proceeding under the 
Commission's ex parte rules, 47 C. F. R. 1.1200, et seq.  Pursuant to these rules, any presentation 
directly addressing the merits or outcome of these applications must be served on all parties to 
the proceeding in accordance with the Commission's ex parte rules. Therefore, in conformity 
with these rules, we are serving a copy of your letter and this response on the parties to this 
proceeding.

Text of Order

	The text of the WQED/Cornerstone/Paxson decision is available via the Internet on the 
Commission's web site at: http://www.fcc.gov/Bureaus/Mass_Media/Orders/1999/fcc99393.doc.


						Sincerely,


						William E. Kennard
						Chairman



  See, e.g., Making Further Appropriations For Fiscal Year 1988 And For Other Purposes, P.L. 100-202 (signed 
Dec. 22, 1987).

The Honorable Michael G. Oxley
January 12, 2000


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