PRESS
RELEASE from MTV via PRNewswire
MTV's Choose or Lose Campaign to Air Youth Targeted Political Coverage
Across Platforms
Obama Answers
Young American's Questions on 30-Minute MTV "Ask Obama" Special
Debuting on Monday, November 3rd at 9am ET
Voices Converge on Real-Time, Interactive "Youth Voice Map" and MTV
News and Street Team Reporters Cover Youth Vote Across the Country
NEW YORK, Oct. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- With more than 25 million young
voters expected to cast their ballots leading up to and on Election
Day, MTV's Choose or Lose campaign continues to bring youth-targeted
political coverage to viewers. MTV today announced that pre-Election
Day it will conduct an exclusive interview and air a thirty-minute
special with Senator Barack Obama, asking him questions submitted by
viewers. This interview opportunity was also extended to Senator
McCain, who declined to participate. On Election Day and the day after,
MTV will harness multiple platforms to bring Choose or Lose to viewers
online, on-air and on mobile, with program elements including an
interactive, real-time Choose or Lose "Youth Voice Map" online; news
hits airing on MTV, MTV2, mtvU, and MTV Tr3s from New York, Chicago and
Phoenix; and Street Team '08 news from each state, with live
mobile-to-web reports from 15 battleground states.
"We're about to enter a new era for America, and young people have
already demonstrated that they are poised to be at the forefront of
this movement. More than 82% of youth view this election as the single
most important in recent history," said Ian Rowe, Senior Vice President
of Public Affairs. "Record youth turnout in the 2004 Presidential
Election, the 2006 Congressional Midterm Elections, the 2008
Presidential Primaries, and even in early voting states all indicate
that young people are on the verge of a massive turnout that could be
the deciding factor in this election. MTV is going all out to capture
this historic moment."
MTV's Choose or Lose political coverage will include the following:
-- "Ask Obama" -- MTV will broadcast a thirty-minute special with
Senator Barack Obama answering questions from America's youth. MTV is
taking questions from young people via video or written submissions at http://YouRHere.mtv.com.
The special will premiere on Monday, November 3rd on MTV at 9:00 am ET
and will subsequently air on MTV at 7:00 pm ET, MTV Tr3s at 11:00 am ET
and 6:30 pm ET, and on mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, and MTV2.
-- Interactive Choose or Lose "Youth Voice Map" -- Youth voices from
across the country will converge on November 4th and 5th on
ChooseorLose.com, MTV.com and MTVNews.com with a real-time
TwitterVision map of the United States. The map will feature a running
display of election-related content including Twitter messages from
young people, SMS messages from viewers, messages from the 51 Choose or
Lose Street Team citizen journalists, video Blog posts from Street Team
members and MTV News correspondents, and MTV News stories.
-- MTV News -- On November 4 and 5, MTV News will have teams on the
ground in New York, Chicago, and Phoenix reporting on Election Day.
These teams will be following the campaigns, talking with young people,
and highlighting issues as they occur. MTV News Correspondents Sway
will be in Chicago, Kim Stolz will be in Phoenix, and John Norris will
be at the CNN GRILL in New York.
-- Choose or Lose Street Team 08 -- Throughout the day, MTV/Knight
Street Team 08 reporters for 15 battleground states will broadcast live
mobile-to-web coverage of the day. People can head to
http://www.ChooseorLose.com to get updates on what's going on in
those key states as well as get live reports should any issues arise
during the day. All Street Team 08 reporters will post in-depth videos,
blogs, and Twitter updates to keep our audience updated on what young
people are doing on Election Day across the country. When the election
is called, the Street Team will be on the ground sharing reactions as
they come in from youth viewing parties in every state.
-- Street Teamers on AP's "Big Issue: Election Results" -- Two MTV
Choose or Lose citizen journalists will take part in the first-ever
Associated Press live streaming online continuous video stream, "Big
Issue: Election Results." Both will report their experiences from being
on the ground, covering the youth vote throughout the year. The webcast
will be available to some 2,000 Web sites of newspapers, broadcasters
and other AP customers throughout the U.S. beginning at 7 pm ET on AP's
Online Video Network at
http://www.ap.org.
-- Total Request Live (TRL) -- MTV News will be featured in 4 segments
during the show including live reports from Chicago and Phoenix to
update MTV viewers on what's going on at campaign headquarters that day.
-- MTV Virtual World Pre-Election Buzz Party -- On Monday, November
3rd, fans in the MTV Virtual World can log on and chat with leading
musical artists and MTV celebrities about the 2008 Presidential
Election. Over the course of the campaign, other elements of "Choose or
Lose '08" have included the pioneering MTV / MySpace Presidential
Dialogue Series, which featured Senators McCain, Clinton, Obama,
Edwards, Governor Huckabee and Representative Paul taking unfiltered
questions -- in person and online, in real time - from youth
nationwide; "Choose or Lose Presents Clinton & Obama Answer Young
Veterans"; and MTV/Knight "Street Team '08," 51 specially-recruited
citizen journalists, one in each state and Washington, D.C., covering
the 2008 elections from a youth perspective.
On July 4th Choose or Lose presented exclusive 60-second video messages
on MTV2 from presumptive Presidential candidates, republican Senator
John McCain and Democratic Senator Barack Obama. These messages paid
tribute to the young men and women who have served in the nation's
armed forces. On July 28th, MTV News and Kanye West teamed up to tell
the stories of returning veterans in the powerful documentary "Choose
or Lose & Kanye West Present: Homecoming (http://think.mtv.com/Campaigns/Homecoming).
In this one hour special, Kanye West, along with MTV's Sway Calloway,
gave recently returned Iraq war veterans the surprise of their lives by
unexpectedly visiting their homes. And, on October 24th, MTV and CNN
teamed up to host a cross-network television event that included a
concert, "A Night for Vets: MTV Honors the BRAVE" to mobilize support
for our country's newest generation of young veterans and news
programming on both channels highlighting young veterans' stories of
triumph, as well as issues facing veterans as they return from battle.
MTV also announced the Bill of Rights for American Veterans (BRAVE), a
petition created in partnership with a group of top non-partisan
veterans' organizations calling on elected officials to support
veterans' issues and swiftly enact positive legislative changes.
American's can sign the petition by texting BRAVE to 66333 or by
logging on to http://www.ChooseorLose.com.
"Choose or Lose '08" (http://www.ChooseorLose.com) is MTV's Emmy
Award-winning campaign to engage, inform and empower young voters on
the political issues that matter to them most. First launched in 1992,
the campaign has helped fuel several of the largest youth voter
turnouts in US history, including in 2004, when it helped inspire
nearly 22 million 18-30 year olds to register and vote. All "Choose or
Lose" content - plus more information on the candidates, issues,
registering to vote and a spirited debate - can be found on http://www.ChooseorLose.com.
About MTV
MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music,
creativity and youth culture. For over 26 years, MTV has evolved,
challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new
generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and
unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV has been the number
one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight
years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV
launched 15 dynamic online communities and eight new virtual worlds. On
the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space -
delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. And MTV's successful sibling
networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized
content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American
Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom
(NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming
and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in... http://www.mtvpress.com.