WITH so much hanging on the outcome of the presidential election, MTV is looking to mobilize 20 million young voters into action.
“We will be addressing their issues and their concerns and monitoring very closely what kind of turnout there is – as best as we can get – through exit polls for this group,” MTV programming chief Dave Sirulnik told The Post.
For two days, on the eve of the election and during election day, MTV will devote huge chunks of its schedule to coverage of the presidential race – an unprecedented move in the network’s 23-year history. Internally, MTV execs are calling it “The Takeover.”
“The number of first-time registered voters is the highest it’s ever been,” says Sirulnik. “We believe there’s going to be over 20 million young people who will cross the finish line with us, and we sort of see our role as the coach on the sidelines cheering them on.”
Each day, MTV will air at least six solid hours of election-themed programming, including spot-coverage of young voters in several key swing states, about a dozen documentaries from the network’s award-winning “Choose or Lose” series and other election-related material.
The “Choose or Lose” specials are in-depth, objective takes on the different policies of John Kerry and George W. Bush – ranging from drugs to sex issues – and how they affect people under 29-years-old, Sirulnik said.
“It all says that young people have been so much more engaged this year,” says Sirulnik. “There are a lot of young people voting for the first time and they are not entrenched Democrats or Republicans – and they’re the ones who are going to make the big decision here.”
MTV is also including two specials, one with Kerry and the other with Bush, that are supposed to provide direct interaction between both candidates and viewers.
Kerry recently sat for an interview (one of several appearances he’s made on MTV this year) in which producers peppered the candidate with questions culled from viewers on the street. Bush has not made himself available to MTV yet – although Sirulnik still has high hopes he will.
For the special, “20 Million Questions for George Bush,” producers culled their answers from hours of footage of Bush campaign appearances and speeches.
