Network to Unveil First-of-its-Kind
“Fantasy Election” Game
2012 Election Coverage Kicks Off with GOP Candidates in MTV News
Special “Our Voice” Premiering Tuesday, December 20
MTV Goes Inside the Lives of Presidential Hopefuls in the Documentary
“When I was 22” Premiering in 2012
Details on the initial elements of MTV’s “Power of 12” include:
• “Fantasy Election
’12” – For the first time ever, MTV will
build a game layer on top of the election and offer young people a new
way to become power players in the electoral process. Similar to
popular “fantasy” games for football or baseball, users will draft a
team of candidates pursuing the Presidency, U.S. Senate and House of
Representatives. In the way that Fantasy Football awards
points when
your players score touchdowns and deducts points when they throw
interceptions, "Fantasy Election ’12" will reward candidates for
exhibiting the behaviors voters deserve, and penalize politicians for
behaviors that hurt our democracy. Additionally, users will be
rewarded for getting involved with Election ’12 – earning bonus points
for actions like registering to vote, “checking-in” to debates and town
hall events, and discussing issues with friends. The game will
launch
closer to the kick-off of the general election, with more details to be
announced.
• “Our Voice” – MTV
will premiere a first-person MTV News
documentary on-air and online by Andrew Jenks that takes the
temperature of young voters and brings their concerns and priorities
directly to the GOP Presidential candidates. The short-form piece
chronicles 25-year-old Jenks’ journey across America as he spends time
with a cross-section of his peers, and heads out on the campaign trail,
posing questions to candidates including Newt Gingrich, Mitt Romney,
Ron Paul, Rick Santorum and John Huntsman. The documentary will
premiere on-air Tuesday, December 20, 2011 at 4:54pm ET/PT, and will be
available online at http://www.powerof12.org.
• “When I was 22” – In early 2012, MTV News will premiere the documentary “When I was 22,” which will give viewers a unique look inside the lives of the Presidential candidates when they were 22 years old. Each episode will paint a portrait of a candidate at a younger age, focusing on their dreams, triumphs, setbacks and the moments of resiliency that ultimately shaped their world view.
• Powerof12.org – MTV today unveiled a new Web site that will feature a stream of the election news that is most relevant to its audience, snapshot views of the political candidates, easy-to-understand primers on the major issues that affect young people in the election, and information for first-time voters. The site also features an easy-to-use voter registration tool from Rock the Vote, plus clear information on registration deadlines, polling locations, and more. In the months ahead, additional tools and features will be added to make it easy for young people to get informed and to make their voices heard.
• MTV News Coverage: As always, MTV News will be on-the-ground, covering the major political events leading up to and following election 2012. MTV News Correspondent Sway Calloway and documentary film-maker Andrew Jenks will be helming MTV’s “Power of 12” coverage, and will be on the ground starting with their coverage for the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary and will be on the ground throughout the year.
For more information on MTV’s “Power of 12” campaign, or details on how to get involved, please visit http://www.Powerof12.org.
About Andrew Jenks:
Filmmaker Andrew Jenks, 25, began his
career with HBO’s Room 335, followed by The Zen of Bobby V for ESPN.
His docu-series “World of Jenks” debuted on MTV in 2010. The series
showcased the lives of inspirational young people who face difficult
odds, and a second season is currently in production.
About MTV:
MTV is the world’s premier youth entertainment brand. With
a global
reach of more than a half-billion households, MTV is the cultural home
of the millennial generation, music fans and artists, and a pioneer in
creating innovative programming for young people. MTV reflects
and
creates pop culture with its Emmy®, Grammy® and Peabody®
award-winning
content built around compelling storytelling, music discovery and
activism across TV, online and mobile. MTV’s sibling networks
MTV2 and
mtvU each deliver unparalleled customized content for young males,
music fans and college students, and its online hub MTV.com is a
leading destination for music, news and pop culture. MTV is a
unit of
Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), one of the world’s leading creators of
programming and content across all media platforms. For more
information, go to http://www.mtvpress.com