Kicks off with "Newsmakers" interviews today with Republican presidential candidates on Yahoo! and ABCNews.com

Announces open casting call for "Remake America" original video series

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yahoo! (NASDAQ: YHOO) the premier digital media company - today launched the first stage of an ambitious yearlong program for the 2012 elections, engaging millions of citizens in conversation about the political and economic issues facing the nation. Yahoo! reaches nearly 90 percent of the nation's online voting age adults each month¹ - more than any other media company — and Yahoo! users will ultimately determine the outcome of the U.S. elections.

With that honor and responsibility, Yahoo! is putting citizens at the forefront of elections coverage by following the personal stories of real Americans throughout the year as the campaign unfolds. Not only will Yahoo! cover each election issue nationally and locally, but the company will uniquely program elections coverage to specific audiences, leveraging its unmatched reach across diverse groups of Americas — millennials, parents, seniors, mothers and other key demographics - to create discussions about the issues that matter most to each group. Yahoo! will enable citizens to propose solutions to the challenges and opportunities facing our nation and share them directly with candidates online and at live events.

"In this time of enormous economic and global challenge, the Yahoo! audience will determine the next president of the United States. We're building Yahoo! News to be the source for political coverage, harnessing the voices, opinions and proposed solutions of Americans from across the country to deliver content and reporting focused on the issues and decisions that voters and their families must deal with daily," said Ross Levinsohn, executive vice president of Americas at Yahoo!. "This will be the most important election for millions of Americans in years, and with 90% of the online electorate visiting Yahoo each month, we embraced the opportunity to play a role in helping Americans choose their leaders, understand the issues, and propose solutions."

Beginning with exclusive ABC News and Yahoo! News "Newsmaker" interviews with Republican candidates today, on the eve of the Michigan debate, Yahoo!'s 2012 elections program includes:

• "Remake America" — An original TV-quality web show following the real-life experiences of eight American families dealing with economic issues facing the country. Over the coming weeks, Yahoo! will introduce these families and scores like them while exploring the issues at the center of the national debate through their eyes. The series will debut in early 2012 following an open, national casting call unveiled today. http://news.yahoo.com/remake-america
• Increased social interaction — By leveraging the new Yahoo! News friends' activity feature and other social elements, Yahoo! will infuse social and personalized experiences across premium news and elections content, creating a platform for a national dialogue among citizens with similar interests and concerns, for example mothers talking to other mothers, young voters talking with other young voters, etc.
• Original reporting and expert analysis — Under the leadership of Washington Bureau Chief David Chalian, Yahoo! will draw on its established team of political writers, including Holly Bailey, Chris Suellentrop, Chris Lehmann, Chris Moody, Rachel Rose Hartman and others. Additionally, notable writers from across the political spectrum will provide insight and commentary on the issues and potential solutions Americans are discussing.
• Joint political news coverage with ABC News — A new, deep integration with ABC News, our premier news provider, on daily campaign coverage, news-making interviews, original video production and expert analysis of the issues.
• "The Signal" — Yahoo! previewed an up-to-the minute blog devoted to elections presenting efficient, real-time predictions and opinion from top experts in predictive analysis. Created by scientists from Yahoo! Labs, The Signal leverages Yahoo!'s planet-scale cloud technology and research resources to run prediction models using live data, capturing the national mood and predicting everything including who the front-runner is for the Republican Party, the likelihood that Obama will win the presidential re-election, and how other political news and economic and financial indicators might impact the elections. A more robust site and dynamic content will launch throughout the winter and spring at http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/signal.

"REMAKE AMERICA" WEB SHOW PUTS A NATION'S CONCERNS IN A HUMAN CONTEXT

Building on Yahoo!'s TV-quality web shows and existing industry-leading video programming, Yahoo! will introduce "Remake America" in January 2012. The video series will capture some of the nation's major challenges by following the experiences of eight families who are striving to achieve the American Dream while dealing with issues from joblessness to foreclosure to worries about lack of health care. The entire Yahoo! community will be able to engage in a family-to-family, neighbor-to-neighbor dialogue around solutions to the fundamental issues behind the personal and political decisions families need to determine in the year ahead.

Beginning today, Yahoo! is holding an open casting call for families who want to share their experiences. For more information, visit: news.yahoo.com/remake-america

INCREASED ORIGINAL REPORTING & BALANCED PERSPECTIVES

Yahoo! News is doubling down on delivering premium original content and reporting, expanding its robust team of journalists. David Chalian, previously political editor at "PBS Newshour" and former ABC News' political director, joined Yahoo! as Washington D.C. bureau chief. In addition to the partnership with ABC News, Chalian and his team are expanding Yahoo!'s original coverage with a focus on delivering stories that bypass the daily press releases to focus on where the candidates actually stand on the critical issues of interest to citizens everywhere.

Additionally, journalists and opinion-leaders from established and emerging news outlets and institutions such as The Atlantic, The Blaze, FactCheck.org, Forbes, National Constitution Center, National Journal, Our Time, Reuters, The Week, and others will contribute their insights and viewpoints on the issues shaping the campaigns. Yahoo!'s newspaper partners from across the nation, including the Tampa Tribune, will provide unique, local coverage of the conventions and the campaigns. The Yahoo! Contributor Network will also provide voters with an opportunity to offer their perspectives and share their on-the-ground reporting with Yahoo! readers.

JOINT PROGRAMMING WITH ABC NEWS

As part of the premier news and information alliance announced last month, Yahoo! News will join ABC News in their bureau in Washington D.C. and will work closely together on 2012 elections coverage.

Today, on the "Newsmakers" original online video program, ABC News anchors and correspondents will interview the Republican presidential candidates live from the campaign trail. The interviews will be live-streamed throughout the day on Yahoo.com and ABCNews.com, and portions of the interviews will also air through ABC News broadcasts and radio, including "World News with Diane Sawyer," "Good Morning America," "Nightline," "This Week with Christiane Amanpour," and ABC News Radio. Before the interviews, ABC News and Yahoo! solicited questions from consumers leading up to the event so that their voices, questions and concerns about key issues could be heard and answered by the candidates.

Yahoo! and ABC News will also collaborate on an original daily politics video program featuring the unmatched talent of the ABC News political team, including George Stephanopoulos, Jonathan Karl, Jake Tapper, John Berman, Amy Walter and others. It will launch with the key primary season.

"THE SIGNAL"— LEVERAGING WORLD RENOWNED PREDICTIONS MODELING TECHNOLOGY

Moving beyond traditional opinion polling, The Signal will capture the national mood and project what is likely to happen as the campaign unfolds, providing up-to-the minute predictions, sentiment, games, and commentary. The blog focuses on presenting efficient, real-time predictions and sentiment analysis from top experts in predictive modeling, providing an invaluable resource with which to follow and track the elections.

A beta version of the blog debuted today, and a more robust site and dynamic content will come online throughout the winter and spring. Authored by Yahoo! Labs' scientists David Rothschild and David Pennock, as well as other academics and assorted experts on predictions and data, The Signal blog will be accompanied by more sophisticated data visualizations in December and experimental games and polling will provide an interactive element in the coming months.

About Yahoo!

Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) is the premier digital media company, creating deeply personal digital experiences that keep more than half a billion people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the globe. And Yahoo!'s unique combination of Science + Art + Scale connects advertisers to the consumers who build their businesses. Yahoo! is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.com) or the company's blog, Yodel Anecdotal (yodel.yahoo.com).

Yahoo! is the trademark and/or registered trademark of Yahoo! Inc. All other names are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

¹ Comscore, September 2011

Media Contacts:
Yahoo! Inc.
Cory Pforzheimer, 408-349-2686
coryp@yahoo-inc.com
or
Yahoo! Inc.
Lisa Goodwin, 408-349-1075
lgoodwin@yahoo-inc.com

Source: Yahoo! Inc.