MTV News Special 'Obama Decoded' to Air Friday, August 29th at 7:30 PM
ET/PT; 'McCain Decoded' to Air Friday, September 5th at 7:30 PM ET/PT
Choose or Lose Street Team '08 Reports Live with Mobile-to-Web Coverage
via ChooseorLose.com
NEW YORK, Aug. 26 -- Maintaining the momentum of MTV's Emmy
award-winning "Choose or Lose" (http://think.mtv.com/Issues/politics)
campaign, MTV (http://www.mtv.com/index.jhtml?extcmp=SEO_SSP_Y) continues to
cover the youth vote like no one else. MTV News (http://www.mtv.com/news)
correspondents, including Sway Calloway, are reporting daily from both the
Democratic and Republican conventions on television, online and on the
handset. As part of the coverage, MTV will air two half-hour specials, "Obama
Decoded" and "McCain Decoded" following each candidate's presidential nominee
acceptance speeches, respectively, on Friday, August 29th at 7:30 pm ET/PT and
on Friday, September 5th at 7:30 PM ET/PT. Additionally, celebrities from
Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy to Kenna will be blogging live on MTV.com during
the candidates' speeches. Members of MTV's Street Team '08 citizen
journalists are also hitting the streets of Denver and Minneapolis, as they
cover the conventions and youth issues with live, mobile-to-web broadcasts
powered by Flixwagon mobile broadcasting technology and Twitter feeds,
straight from the convention halls.
"Obama Decoded" and "McCain Decoded" will take in-depth looks at each
candidate's acceptance speech, dissecting the rhetoric to identify issues that
matter most to young people. Each show will integrate the voice of MTV's
audience, with commentary from analysts, young delegates, and youth attending
the conventions for the first time. as well as those watching from their home
states, with the Street Team '08 journalists recording youth reactions at
viewing parties across America. Additionally, a number of celebrities will be
blogging live on MTV.com during each of the candidate's speeches, including
Pete Wentz, Ryan Leslie, Kenna, and Solange Knowles.
In addition to these shows, MTV's News reports will air daily on a variety
of MTV channels, from Total Request Live on MTV to MTV2 to mtvU to MTV Tr3s.
The coverage will tackle a variety of issues relevant to young people, but
will specifically focus on how both parties are approaching topics facing
young veterans. Choose or Lose hopes to elevate these issues and ensure the
Presidential candidates are addressing them as part of their overall
campaigns.
"Recent MTV research found that nearly 70 percent of young people
personally know someone who has fought in Iraq," says Ian Rowe, Senior Vice
President of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs. "More broadly, MTV's
research revealed that 81% of our audience is closely monitoring this
election, as compared to 58% earlier this year. With such overwhelming
interest from young people in this election, it's crucial that Choose or Lose
continue to cover the issues of greatest importance to them, across all the
media platforms they use."
MTV's Street Team of citizen journalists will air on-the-spot reports,
streamed live each day from correspondents' Flixwagon video-equipped mobile
phones to ChooseorLose.com, along with blog posts and twitter feeds for
up-to-the-minute reports. Reports will also be streamed live from both
conventions in MTV's Virtual World (http://www.vmtv.com/), with a few of the
Street Teamers on the ground making "live" special appearances from each
convention to talk politics with young people in the Virtual World.
MTV 's Street Team '08 is utilizing an innovative mobile-to-web
broadcasting technology by Flixwagon (http://www.flixwagon.com) to stream live
video footage online and on-air using mobile phones. Flixwagon's application
allows anyone using a capable 3G mobile phone to easily stream live,
high-quality video directly to the web.
The "Street Team '08" program is made possible by the Knight News
Challenge grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. The Knight
News Challenge, at http://www.newschallenge.org, is an annual worldwide
competition awarding $5 million for innovative ideas that use digital media to
inform and inspire communities. The Knight Foundation plans to invest at
least $25 million over five years in the search for bold community news
experiments
"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. This year, Choose or Lose is nominated to be one of the
top 10 sites changing the world of politics. To cast your vote please go to:
http://www.politicsonline.com/content/main/specialreports/2008/top10_2008/vote
.asp
Other elements of "Choose or Lose '08" include the pioneering MTV /
MySpace Presidential Dialogue Series, which has 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 "Street Team '08," 51 specially-recruited citizen journalists, one in
each state and Washington, D.C., covering the 2008 elections from a youth
perspective. "Street Team" members file weekly multi-media reports, tailor
their coverage for mobile devices and focus on the political issues that most
impact young people in their respective states. 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. And, 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. 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 (http://think.mtv.com/).
About Think.MTV.com
Think MTV (Think.MTV.com) is dynamic, multimedia-driven and enables youth
to easily learn more about the issues that matter to them most, share their
opinions -- via uploaded online videos, podcasts and blogs -- and connect with
others to make a difference. The site is one of the only to reward members
for positive actions taken online or off, serving up chances to hang out with
socially conscious celebs, access to exclusive MTV events, exposure on MTV and
other national media outlets, as well as grants, scholarships and more.
Think.MTV.com was built and launched with the support and expertise of The
Case Foundation, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Goldhirsh Foundation
and The MCJ Amelior Foundation. For more information or to build a profile
and become involved, visit Think.MTV.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.
About Flixwagon
Flixwagon is changing how people capture and share video on the web. It
provides an application to easily stream live, high-quality video from a
mobile phone directly to the Web. With Flixwagon, you can broadcast your world
to individuals and groups, your blog, social networks and leading video sites.
Flixwagon is privately held with offices in Boston, USA and Tel Aviv, Israel.
For more information, visit http://www.flixwagon.com and
http://blog.flixwagon.com.
SOURCE MTV
CONTACT:
Janice Gatti of MTV Communications, +1-201-424-0482
Janice.gatti@mtvstaff.com
or
Shannon Cortina of Springboard Public Relations,
for Flixwagon, +1-732-863-1900
Shannon.cortina@springboardpr.com
Web Site: http://blog.flixwagon.com
http://www.ChooseorLose.com
http://www.flixwagon.com
http://www.mtv.com
http://www.newschallenge.org
http://www.Think.MTV.com
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