GSN's First-Ever 'National Vocabulary Championship' Culminates With a Live Competition on Monday, March 5, 2007 at the New York Public Library

GSN's First-Ever 'National Vocabulary Championship' Culminates With a Live Competition on Monday, March 5, 2007 at the New York Public Library

Fifty Top High School Qualifiers Compete for $40,000 Toward College Tuition in Inaugural National Vocabulary Championship

PASADENA, Calif., Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- GSN, the leading interactive game television network, has announced the final competition date of the NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP (NVC). The Finals will feature 50 of the nation's top high school vocabulary students competing for $40,000 toward higher education. The National Vocabulary Championship will be held in New York City at the New York Public Library Monday, March 5, 2007 from 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET. The event will be broadcast as a one-hour special Sunday, April 15 at 8:00 PM ET/PT on GSN.

The NVC, which launched in September 2006, is a pro-social educational initiative conceived by GSN to emphasize the importance of language arts skills and encourage high school students to enhance their vocabularies. In total, over 30,000 students nationwide participated in this inaugural year of the program. GSN has already awarded over $50,000 in tuition and grant monies to students and their schools, and will ultimately award over $100,000 through the program.

In the finals, 50 high school students, who qualified through citywide competitions or regional exams offered nationwide, will attempt to navigate three challenging rounds of vocabulary calisthenics. The NVC does not have a spelling element, but rewards contestants for comprehension ability. The last one standing at the end of game play will be crowned 'National Vocabulary Champion 2007.'

Dena Kaplan, GSN's Senior Vice President of Marketing, who conceived the NVC concept said: "Our vision is to make the NVC a cultural phenomenon. The NVC has been overwhelmingly embraced by a cadre of higher education officials, educators, politicians, celebrities, advertisers, teachers, parents and most importantly, students. We believe that this heartfelt competition has all of the natural ingredients for compelling television."

"Vocabulary is highly relevant in the game of life, and GSN is committed to helping educators across the country raise awareness of the importance of language arts in the classroom," added Rich Cronin, President and CEO, GSN. "We're told by teachers and parents that students who didn't qualify for this year's final are already preparing for next year, so the NVC has already made a difference."

The NVC has received support from such leaders as Russ Carnahan, U.S. Representative (3rd District-MO); John F. Street, Mayor of Philadelphia; Luke Ravenstahl, Mayor of Pittsburgh; Lois Frankel, Mayor of West Palm Beach; Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, along with numerous City Council members, education groups such as the National Education Association, and cable operators Comcast, Time Warner, Charter, and Cablevision's Power to Learn. The program is also supported by sponsors Neutrogena, Mead/Five Star, and Sharpie. Educational partner The Princeton Review has provided the content for the NVC, and internet travel source Orbitz will provide roundtrip airfare to and from New York for the contestants and their guests.

A complete list of the 50 finalists follows, including name, age, school, city and state. All media are invited to cover the live event.

NATIONAL VOCABULARY CHAMPIONSHIP FINALISTS
(Subject to change. (*)Denotes citywide competition winner)

ALABAMA
Name, Age High School City
Catherine DeVore, 17 John Carroll Catholic HS Birmingham, AL

ARKANSAS
Name, Age High School City
Levi Foster, 16 Haas Hall Academy HS Fayetteville, AR

ARIZONA
Name, Age High School City
Rebecca Lee, 17 Desert Mountain HS Scottsdale, AZ

CALIFORNIA
Name, Age High School City
Stephanie Stein, 17 Valencia HS Anaheim, CA
Andrew Pirolo, 17 Nipomo HS Arroyo Grande, CA
Rebecca Lent, 17 Carlmont HS Belmont, CA
Adri Walker, 17* Elk Grove HS Sacramento, CA
Tiffany Quach, 17 Lowell HS San Francisco, CA
Ariel Edwards-Levy, 18 North Hollywood HS Sherman Oaks, CA

CONNECTICUT
Name, Age High School City
David Donna, 16 Granby HS Granby, CT

FLORIDA
Name, Age High School City
Kara Million, 17 Home Schooled Fountain, FL
Saba Rahman, 17* Palm Beach Central HS W. Palm Beach, FL

GEORGIA
Name, Age High School City
Billy Dorminy, 16 Home Schooled McDonough, GA
Joe Shepherd, 15 Home Schooled Waynesboro, GA

IOWA
Name, Age High School City
Katherine Orazem, 17 Ames HS Ames, IA

INDIANA
Name, Age High School City
Amy Stoller, 18 Blackhawk Christian School Fort Wayne, IN

KENTUCKY
Name, Age High School City
Kenton Sena, 19 Home Schooled Hebron, KY

MASSACHUSETTS
Name, Age High School City
Richard Goggin, 17* Boston Latin Academy Boston, MA
Kathleen Ma, 18 Arlington Catholic HS Medford, MA
Rebecca Coffey, 18 Westfield HS Westfield, MA

MARYLAND
Name, Age High School City
Jennifer Crick, 17 The Tome School Chesapeake City, MD

MICHIGAN
Name, Age High School City
Elizabeth Van Horn, 17* Cass Technical HS Detroit, MI
Jennifer Xu, 16 Troy HS Troy, MI

MISSOURI
Name, Age High School City
Noah Berman, 15* Metro HS St. Louis, MO

MONTANA
Name, Age High School City
John Ausick, 16 Home Schooled Clyde Park, MT

NORTH CAROLINA
Name, Age High School City
Anna Brinkman, 17 Home Schooled Charlotte, NC
Lia Campbell, 16 Home schooled Hendersonville, NC

NEW JERSEY
Name, Age High School City
Matthew Chao, 17 Home Schooled East Brunswick, NJ
Alex Silady, 14 John P. Stevens HS Edison, NJ
Ann Ouyang, 18 Holmdel HS Holmdel, NJ
Daniel Thorn, 18 Teaneck HS Teaneck, NJ
Talia Lavin, 17 SAR HS Teaneck, NJ
Eugenia Yu, 17 West Windsor-Princeton HS South West Windsor, NJ

NEW MEXICO
Name, Age High School City
Vivienne Clark, 15 Home Schooled Albuquerque, NM

NEW YORK
Name, Age High School City
Andrew Fader, 18 Briarcliff HS Briarcliff Manor, NY
Naomi Hinchen, 18 Stuyvesant HS Brooklyn, NY
Snigda Sur, 17 Stuyvesant HS Floral Park, NY
Danielle Bendjy, 16 Lindenhurst Senior HS Lindenhurst, NY
Leah Libresco, 17 Wheatley HS Mineola, NY
Micah Jordan, 16* Pablo Neruda Academy New York, NY
Erik Zyman, 15 Stuyvesant HS New York, NY

OHIO
Name, Age High School City
John Rooney, 18 Lutheran HS West Bay Village, OH

PENNSYLVANIA
Name, Age High School City
Ashok Bhaskar, 17 Conestoga HS Malvern, PA
Samuel Settle, 16 St. Joseph's Prep School Philadelphia, PA
Hannah Zickgraf, 16* Central HS Philadelphia, PA
Daniel Weber, 17* Keystone Oaks HS Pittsburgh, PA

TEXAS
Name, Age High School City
Sylvia Carroll, 18 El Paso HS El Paso, TX
Ryan Buckley, 18 Friendswood HS Friendswood, TX
Prashant Prasad, 17 Clear Lake HS Houston, TX

WISCONSIN
Name, Age High School City
Robert Marsland, 18 St. Ambrose Academy Madison, WI

About the "National Vocabulary Championship"

The National Vocabulary Championship (NVC) is a GSN initiative that uses competition and wordplay to engage and reward high school students, educators and parents, teaching them the value of a strong vocabulary. Created with educational partner The Princeton Review, the NVC is open to eligible high school students in the 50 states and the District of Columbia and will be promoted in schools and through a national "Win With Words" Public Service Announcement campaign. In addition, a robust, interactive website (www.winwithwords.com) offers a variety of free vocabulary-enhancing tools, word games and study materials.

About GSN

GSN is the entertainment industry leader in multi-platform interactive game programs. As the premier television network for games, GSN features challenging word games, high intensity casino programs, live participation shows, reality series and documentaries. Complementing the network, GSN.com features all types of game play: innovative Flash games for fun, skill cash game tournaments and downloadable games. The website also features GSN's two-screen interactive play-along for prime time shows. Now reaching more than 62 million Nielsen homes, GSN is distributed in the U.S. through all major cable systems and satellite providers. The network is jointly owned by Sony Pictures Entertainment and Liberty Media Corporation. For further media information, visit GSN's press website at corp.gsn.com.

About The Princeton Review

The Princeton Review is a pioneer in the world of education. Founded in 1981 and headquartered in New York City, the Company offers private tutoring and classroom and online test preparation to help students improve their scores in college and graduate school admissions tests. The Company's free website, www.PrincetonReview.com, helps over half of university-bound students research, apply to, prepare for, and learn how to pay for their higher education, and helps hundreds of colleges and universities streamline their admissions and recruiting activities. In addition, The Princeton Review works with school districts around the U.S. to measurably strengthen students' academic skills by connecting ongoing assessment with professional development and instruction and by providing districts with college and career resources for both students and guidance counselors. The Company also authors more than 200 print and software titles on test preparation, college and graduate school selection and admissions, and related topics

Source: GSN

CONTACT: Deborah McBride of GSN, +1-310-255-6938, dmcbride@gsn.com

Web site: http://www.princetonreview.com/

Web site: http://corp.gsn.com/

Web site: http://www.winwithwords.com/

Web site: http://www.gsn.com/

NOTE TO EDITORS: For further information or to interview participants, please contact Deborah McBride at GSN (310.255.6938 or dmcbride@gsn.com). The NVC media credential form can be downloaded from the NVC website (www.winwithwords.com). It is located in the press section.

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