MTV's Choose or Lose at the Democratic & Republican Conventions

MTV's Choose or Lose at the Democratic & Republican Conventions

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 /PRNewswire/ -- 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)(NYSE: 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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