For record only
$//Fox Television (New York NY) TV ren FCC 95-26//$
$/19.735-206 Misuse of information/$
                                                  FCC 95-26
                                Before the
                     FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION
                          Washington, D.C. 20554


In re Application of               )
                                   )
FOX TELEVISION STATIONS, INC.      )    File No. BRCT-940201KZ
                                   )    
For Renewal of License for         )
Station WNYW-TV, New York,         ) 
New York                           )


                                   ORDER


         Adopted: January 25, 1995 ; Released: January 25, 1995


By the Commission:


     1.  In this order we waive our rules to permit current and
former Commission personnel to make statements to private parties
concerning certain matters at issue in this proceeding.  We also
authorize release of certain internal agency documents.

     2.  This proceeding involves the application of Fox
Television Stations, Inc. (FTS), for renewal of its license to
operate Station WNYW-TV in New York City.  The Metropolitan
Council of NAACP Branches, et al., has filed a petition to deny
FTS' renewal application, which challenges FTS' qualifications
for license renewal.  To assist the Commission in resolving this
matter, the Mass Media Bureau has undertaken an investigation of
the circumstances surrounding FTS' 1985 applications to acquire 
six television stations.  See Interim Procedural Order, File No.
BRCT-940201KZ (Dec. 7, 1994); Second Interim Procedural Order,
File No. BRCT-940201KZ (Dec. 21, 1994).  

     3.  It is anticipated that current and former Commission
personnel may be asked by private parties in this proceeding to
be interviewed concerning the Commission's 1985 decision by
providing relevant information gained in the course of their
employment.  Such information is not routinely made available to
the public, and its disclosure to persons outside the Commission
is prohibited by 47 C.F.R.  19.735-206.  Thus, current and
former Commission personnel are barred from providing such
information.    

     4.  We have decided to waive 47 C.F.R.  19.735-206 and FCC
INST 1113.4 to the extent they otherwise bar current and former
Commission personnel from disclosing to the parties in this
proceeding non-public information concerning the Commission's
1985 decision.  In light of this order, former Commission
personnel need not request approval pursuant to FCC INST 1113.4,
Att. 1, to be interviewed concerning the 1985 decision by the
private parties in this proceeding.  See Telestar, Inc., 4 FCC
Rcd 4065 (1989).  We have also decided to release certain
internal documents to the private parties.  These are the 1985
Agenda Item memorandum circulated to the Commission concerning
the FTS application decision (the only existing internal agency
record relating to the 1985 decision) and the statements provided
to the Bureau made by current and former Commission personnel in
the course of this investigation. 

     5.  We wish to emphasize that these actions arise from the
nature of the particular matters at issue in this proceeding.  We
also wish to emphasize that this order authorizes but does not
compel anyone to be interviewed.  Finally, by these actions, we
do not waive any other privilege, right, or argument that may
pertain to the Commission's 1985 decision or to any other
Commission decision.

     6.   ACCORDINGLY, IT IS ORDERED, that 47 C.F.R.  19.735-206
and other Commission requirements barring disclosure of
non-public information ARE WAIVED to the extent indicated in 
paragraph 4, and the release of documents IS AUTHORIZED to the
extent indicated in paragraph 4.  




                         FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION




                         William F. Caton
                         Acting Secretary