January 6, 1994



                            Press Statement of
                       Commissioner James H. Quello


     On January 3, 1995, I sent a letter to the Honorable Larry
Pressler, Chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science &
Transportation Committee, expressing in some detail my concerns
about certain aspects of the procedures the Commission staff was
then using to pursue its investigation into the ownership
structure of the Fox Broadcasting Company.  My principal concern
in this regard centered on the public impression of bias and
prejudgement these procedures had inadvertently created.  

     Yesterday, I joined in a unanimous vote of the Commission
adopting a letter to Fox indicating that, after reviewing the
current procedures for the conduct of this inquiry, we are
confident that the proceeding is being handled by the staff in a
"fair, objective and impartial manner, consistent with the
handling of all Commission investigations."

     I added my vote to those of my colleagues in light of the
good faith efforts the staff has now taken to correct the
unfortunate misimpression previously created regarding the
conduct of the investigation.  Specifically, these steps are:  
(1) the original overbroad confidentiality order has been
significantly narrowed in scope; (2) in response to my concern
that the attorney-client privilege not be invoked by the staff to
bar relevant testimony of current and previous Commission
officers and employees, I have been assured by the staff that the
privilege will not be invoked to prevent the parties from
interviewing such individuals; and (3) perhaps most importantly,
I am now being provided with copies of documents related to the
investigation upon request, including the December 7, 1994 letter
to Fox posing additional questions.  In light of these steps, I
now feel confident that the inquiry is being conducted in a fair
and impartial manner.

     It is now time to move forward, and to bring this
investigation to a conclusion as quickly as possible.  Both the
Commission investigators and the parties should cooperate in
working toward this goal.  I will, as before, continue to monitor
closely the conduct of this proceeding to ensure that there are
no missteps, by any of those involved, that would prejudice or
delay this proceeding.