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MT. LEBANON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL'S JOHN OXENREITER WINS THE PITTSBURGH CITYWIDE COMPETITION OF THE SECOND ANNUAL 'NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP'

For Immediate Release

(Photos available at winwithwords.com or corp.gsn.com)

MT. LEBANON SENIOR HIGH SCHOOL’S JOHN OXENREITER WINS THE PITTSBURGH CITYWIDE COMPETITION OF THE SECOND ANNUAL ‘NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP’

Oxenreiter outperforms 94 other vocabulary scholars, winning $5,000 toward a higher education savings plan and qualifying to compete in the National Vocabulary Championship Finals in Los Angeles on March 10

(Pittsburgh, PA) – Monday, January 14, 2008 – John Oxenreiter, a 17 year-old senior at Mt. Lebanon Senior High School in Mt. Lebanon, outperformed 94 other local high school vocabulary scholars tonight, winning the NVC Pittsburgh Citywide Championship. As the local champion, Oxenreiter earned $5,000 toward a “529” higher education savings plan and qualifies to compete in the “National Vocabulary Championship” Finals in Los Angeles on March 10. 

The National Vocabulary Championship is a national academic competition conceived by GSN (Game Show Network) and its educational partner, The Princeton Review. The competition goes beyond traditional ‘spelling bees’ to test word definitions and overall word comprehension while providing college-bound students with the tools necessary to effectively communicate their ideas to the world. The NVC is hosting eight citywide qualifying events prior to the NVC Finals in LA, in which Oxenreiter will go head-to-head with 49 other top-scoring students from the more than 100,000 who participated throughout the country. The winner of the NVC Finals will receive $40,000 toward a “529” higher education savings plan and the title of 2008 National Vocabulary Champion.

Presented in partnership with Comcast Cable, tonight’s live event was held at Keystone Oaks High School in Pittsburgh, PA. The event featured the top 95 scorers of the more than 4,000 students who participated at the qualifying level from nearly 50 local area schools including: Baldwin High, City Charter High, Highlands High, Imani Christian Academy, Laurel High, North Hills High, Penn Hills Sr. High, Riverview Jr./Sr. High, Shaler Area High, South Allegheny High, Thomas Jefferson High and Woodland Hills High. 

On hand to show his support for the NVC, Pittsburgh City Council President Doug Shields opened the event, commending GSN’s educational efforts with the NVC and congratulating the Pittsburgh finalists for their achievement.

Oxenreiter, who turned in the highest qualifying exam score among the Pittsburgh finalists, sealed his victory in the third and final round by correctly identifying the word “twine” as a synonym of “meander” in the following sentence:

“Everything needed for our subterfuge is easy to procure: some diaphanous netting, a ball of twine, an acute stave, and a modicum of aplomb.”

The knock-out-style round of vocabulary questions had begun with five finalists, of which John McElhattan (North Allegheny Senior High School) and Joshua Gao (Upper St. Clair High School) placed second and third, respectively. As second- and third-place finalists, McElhattan and Gao will each receive Encyclopædia Britannica’s 2008 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD as well as books and services from The Princeton Review.  All of tonight’s competitors were awarded one-year Encyclopædia Britannica Online subscriptions from NVC sponsor Encyclopædia Britannica. 

A partner of this and many other educational initiatives in the area, Comcast Cable has again lent its support to the National Vocabulary Championship. “Comcast has always felt a strong sense of responsibility about bringing such unique and important educational opportunities like GSN’s National Vocabulary Championship to the students and communities of the Pittsburgh area,” said Linda Hossinger, Senior Vice President of Comcast’s Three River Region. “Watching these students compete here tonight has been the highest affirmation of our efforts and we wish John all our best at the National Finals in March.”

“Comcast has been a valued supporter and committed partner of the NVC’s efforts to further promote education programs in schools throughout the Pittsburgh region,” said Dennis Gillespie, Senior Vice President of Distribution, GSN. “We’re thrilled to see such a marked increase in student participation throughout the country this year and congratulate John on his victory in Pittsburgh.”

At the NVC Finals on March 10, Oxenreiter will join New York’s Rebecca Maxfield (a 16-year-old junior at New Rochelle High School), Northeast Ohio’s Joel Fichter (an 18-year-old senior at St. Edward High School), Detroit’s Steven Banks (a 17-year-old senior from Renaissance High School), St. Louis’s Rajiv Tarigopula (a 15-year-old sophomore from Parkway West High School), Sacramento’s Yvonne Lin (a 16-year-old sophomore from Folsom High School) and Nashville’s Brian Swenson (a 16-year-old junior from Montgomery Bell Academy), each of whom recently won their own NVC citywide championships.

To learn more about the NVC, visit www.winwithwords.com.

About the “National Vocabulary Championship”
GSN’s National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a nationwide academic competition that offers high school students the opportunity to win money toward college tuition through local and national events.  Created by GSN, along with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students in the 50 United States and District of Columbia.  The NVC is the cornerstone of GSN’s award-winning “Win With Words” public service campaign dedicated to improving language arts skills in high schools by promoting the value of an enhanced vocabulary, providing free Princeton Review study materials and engaging students in wordplay.  For free vocabulary study materials or for more information on GSN’s National Vocabulary Championship, please visit www.winwithwords.com.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY to enter or participate in the NVC.  Open only to high school students who are legal residents of the U.S., between the ages of 13 and 19 as of the date of the applicable NVC exam and/or event.  Minors in their state of residency must provide written consent from their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to advance to an NVC citywide championship or regional exam.  Fifty finalists (eight citywide champions and 42 top scorers from the National Qualifying Competition) will win an opportunity to compete for $40,000 towards college tuition at the National Vocabulary Championship Finals.  Void where prohibited.  See Official Rules at www.winwithwords.com for complete details, including dates of NVC qualifying examinations and events, additional eligibility restrictions and prize descriptions/restrictions.

About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (http://www.comcast.com) is the nation's leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. With 24.2 million cable customers, 12.9 million high-speed Internet customers, and 4.1 million voice customers, Comcast is principally involved in the development, management and operation of broadband cable systems and in the delivery of programming content.

Comcast's content networks and investments include E! Entertainment Television, Style Network, The Golf Channel, VERSUS, G4, AZN Television, PBS KIDS Sprout, TV One, Comcast SportsNet and Comcast Interactive Media, which develops and operates Comcast's Internet business. Comcast also has a majority ownership in Comcast-Spectacor, whose major holdings include the Philadelphia Flyers NHL hockey team, the Philadelphia 76ers NBA basketball team and two large multipurpose arenas in Philadelphia.

Comcast’s Three Rivers Region serves 850,000 customers in four states, including Southwestern Pennsylvania, Eastern Ohio, Northern West Virginia and Northern Maryland.  The region employs approximately 2,400 professionals and has been recognized by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as one of the best top 10 large companies to work and by the Pittsburgh Business Times for two consecutive years as one of the “50 Best Places to Work in Western Pennsylvania.”

About GSN
GSN is a trusted industry-leading game content provider that distributes game show programming through its 68-million subscriber television network and its casual and online competitive entertainment games site, GSN.com. As the premier television network for games, GSN encourages its viewers to play every day by putting winning within reach for everyone by inviting them to participate and play along through popular original game shows, free downloadable games and skill cash game tournaments. GSN is distributed throughout the U.S. and Canada by all major cable operators, satellite providers and telcos. The company is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.

Media Contact: Cindy Ronzoni, GSN 310.255.6933/ cronzoni@gsn.com

- GSN '08 -

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