December 22, 1999

Washington, DC - The Alliance for Progressive Action and the QED Accountability Project charge Senator John McCain with influencing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approval of a hotly contested three-way Pittsburgh public television license exchange and sale. The decision favors Paxson Communications, a contributor to McCain's presidential bid. The community groups await a response from the General Counsel of the FCC to their late Monday request for an investigation of McCain's unusual actions.

On November 17, 1999 the Senator and Presidential candidate instructed the FCC commissioners to take action on the deal no later than December 15, 1999. "If in your judgment the Commission cannot meet this request, please advise me of this fact in writing, with a specific and complete explanation, no later than November 18, 1999," wrote McCain.

In a second letter, dated December 10, 1999, written to FCC Chair William Kennard, McCain was even more forceful in his resolution. He demanded, "if the license applications were not acted upon" that Chairman Kennard "...explain why." Obviously feeling the pressure, the commissioners voted to approve the application. However, the FCC press release indicated that the 30-page opinion included four separate dissenting opinions.

Kennard responded to McCain's letter by saying, "It is highly unusual for the commissioners to be asked to publicly announce their voting status on a matter that is still pending." He said such inquiries "could have procedural and substantive impacts on the Commission's deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties."

Save Pittsburgh Public Television campaign's director Jerry Starr, said, "This is the latest and most flagrant example of Washington insiders riding rough-shod over community sentiment. The pressure to resolve this by December 15th comes from the applicants, Paxson Communications, WQED, and Cornerstone TeleVision, whose contract expires at the end of the year." Starr added, "McCain is making big statements about taking the money out of politics, but we have discovered that Paxson, his people and his attorneys have contributed at least $15,000 to McCain's campaign in the past few months."

For three years, Save Pittsburgh Public Television, the Alliance for Progressive Action, and the QED Accountability Project have delivered thousands of letters, calls, petition signatures and affidavits from local public television viewers to the FCC in opposition to a deal that would deprive the community of a public station.

The community groups that compose the Save Pittsburgh Public Television campaign are convinced that McCain's heavy-handed intervention broke ex parte rules. This denied the groups an opportunity to respond and forced a decision by the FCC against the public's wishes. Attorneys for the community groups are asking the FCC General Counsel to "impose sanctions...including an order to show cause why the applications should not be dismissed or denied."

Background:

The deal at issue has Pittsburgh public station WQED-TV exchanging its license for second station WQEX-TV (Channel 16) with Cornerstone TeleVision, a nonprofit religious station operating a commercial license (Channel 40). Cornerstone, a conservative evangelical station, then would move over to Channel 16 and WQEX would cease to be. Paxson Communications would pay WQED $35 million for Cornerstone's former Channel 40 and WQED would split the take with Cornerstone.

Calling itself the Save Pittsburgh Public Television campaign, The Alliance for Progressive Action and QED Accountability Project had opposed an earlier direct dereservation (commercialization) of WQEX channel 16. On July 24, 1996 the FCC ruled that WQED had not made its case and WQEX could not be dereserved. In July 1997, WQED implemented its Plan B three-way deal.

In May 1998, the FCC wrote to Cornerstone that it currently did not meet noncommercial, educational standards because its small self-perpetuating board was not sufficiently representative or accountable (e.g. directors were related to each and also served as officers and programmers) and its programming was heavily commercial and not sufficiently educational. Opponents also cited hate programming that violated the Fair Break doctrine protecting groups from personal attack.

Cornerstone effectively refused to make the necessary changes to its application. At the same time, Pittsburghers protested the deal through thousands of letters and phone calls to the FCC, newspaper editorials, radio talk show calls and demonstrations at the station.

In June 1999, WQED and Paxson engaged heavy-hitting lobbyist Patton Boggs. Since then, Patton Boggs attorneys Lanny Davis and Thomas Siebert, Congressmen Ron Klink (D-PA), Frank Mascara (D-PA), Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and Billy Tauzin (R-LA) all have written in support of the application.

Cong. Bill Coyne (D-PA) wrote in opposition to the deal on October 15, 1999, but his letter was returned by the FCC's Assistant General Counsel John Riffer to Coyne's office on December 1st, advising it could not be considered by the commissioners unless served on all parties to the proceeding.