Your Fate `08 - An offbeat and edgy look at the 2008 race for the White House
Released on: January 28, 2008, 1:01 pm
Press Release Author: Joel Holland
Industry: Government
Press Release Summary: Ever wondered what Senator Clinton would sing on "American Idol?" Or what Senator Obama's talent would be on "America's Got Talent?" Or which dangerous sport Governor Romney would participate in during the '08 Olympics? Virginia native Joel Holland partnered with ABC to find out the answers to these questions and many more.
Press Release Body: Politics can be boring-extremely boring. Yet political engagement is vital to a healthy democracy. So what does it take to get the millions of eligible 18-29 year-old voters engaged in the 2008 race for the White House? New Hampshire ABC affiliate WMUR (owned by Hearst-Argyle) found.nay.pioneered the solution by creating an edgy, raw outlet for political content and insight entitled "Your Fate '08."
As the Granite State stomping grounds began heating up for the presidential primaries, WMUR hired young web expert Joel Holland (www.joelkentholland.com) as the WMUR.com/YouTube/Facebook campaign trail reporter to develop edgy and interactive political content for "Your Fate '08" that would resonate with the YouTube generation.
Holland immediately hit the campaign trail, providing video blogs, synthesized policy reports, and off-the-wall pop-culture interviews with dozens of presidential candidates in an effort to get to know the personal side of the sometimes robotic politicians.
Ever wondered what Senator Clinton would sing on "American Idol?" Or what Senator Obama's talent would be on "America's Got Talent?" Or which dangerous sport Governor Romney would participate in during the '08 Olympics? Joel found the answers to these questions and many more (Will Governor Huckabee be placing Chuck Norris in the White House?) in a series of exclusive interviews with top-tier candidates. (You can view a 3-minute montage of entertaining responses from 10 top-tier candidates: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uw1O3Zi3EEs)
To complement the light hearted interviews, Holland also engaged the candidates on issues close to young voters, including gas prices, a potential military draft, healthcare, jobs and the economy, among others.
In addition to creating original short-form content, WMUR and Holland knew that interactivity was important to engaging young viewers. Through a partnership with YouTube, WMUR gave away 40 Flip video cameras (www.theflip.com) to young voters throughout New Hampshire in order to capture and share their primary experiences with the world. Hundreds of viewer videos flooded in, ranging from zainy to brainy. All can be viewed and rated by visiting http://www.youtube.com/wmurtv.
Now that the primaries are in full swing, there is finally political content available to interest and inform the youth of America, which can view any of the Your Fate '08 interviews, user-generated videos, blog entries or policy snapshots by visiting http://www.wmur.com/yourfate08/
Holland plans to continue covering the 2008 presidential race in order to entertain, engage, and ultimately encourage young voters across the country to get out and vote. For more information on WMUR, visit http://www.wmur.com For more information on Joel Holland, visit http://www.joelkentholland.com For further information, please contact Joel Holland 703-899-5337 joelkentholland(at)gmail.com
Web Site: http://www.wmur.com/yourfate08/
Contact Details: Joel Holland 8596 Coral Gables Ln. Vienna, VA 22182