Through 3 Hours of Live Coverage and Celebrity Guests, Along With 4 Voter
Registration Rallies in Key Battleground States, BET Encourages People
Across the Nation to Get Involved
Hosted by Queen Latifah, the "STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD: THE BET
VOTER REGISTRATION DAY" Special Airs Live on BET from 11:00 A.M.-2:00 P.M.
ET*
New York, NY (Rap Newswire) Sept. 23, 2008 -- As the deadlines
for voter registration in each state draw near, BET Networks is making
an unprecedented, nationwide effort to encourage its audience to "STAND
UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD." On Saturday, September 27, BET Networks will be
hosting a powerful and exciting voter registration day -- on air, online
and in communities across the country -- from 11:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. ET/PT*
on BET aimed at getting people registered to vote. The special will re-air
from 5:00-8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Saturday, September 27 on BET.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO
)
During this historic, three-hour "STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD: THE BET
VOTER REGISTRATION DAY" special, the BET studio in New York City will serve
as the headquarters for the event, featuring host Queen Latifah (The Secret
Life of Bees), appearances by Jim Jones and Mary Mary, and an in-studio
audience of 100 unregistered voters.
In addition, BET will present live remote coverage from voter registration
rallies taking place in cities in four (4) key battleground states: Cleveland,
Ohio; Detroit, Mich.; Norfolk, Va.; and Philadelphia, Pa. At each rally,
thousands of people will gather to register to vote, receive valuable voter
registration information and hear about the importance of voting from BET
hosts and news correspondents, as well as celebrity guests.
"To support this historic presidential election, we are making a major,
dedicated effort to mobilize the hugely significant voting bloc of unregistered
African Americans to sign up and get to the polls," said Debra L. Lee,
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, BET Networks. "The numbers don't
lie -- African American voters have the potential to impact the outcomes
of several states on Election Day. With more than 8 million African Americans
not yet registered to vote, BET Networks is seizing this Saturday, September
27th as the moment to encourage our audience to embrace their civic duty
and get on the rolls, so that they're set to vote in November and make
a real difference in this election."
"Through 'STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD,' we're using the power of our
platforms to educate and inform our viewers about why their votes count,"
said Scott Mills, President and Chief Operating Officer, BET Networks.
"We're so excited to be partnering with the four host cities this Saturday,
and are thrilled that Queen Latifah will be anchoring the whole event for
us from our studio in New York. This is a critical moment in our nation's
history, and BET Networks is proud to do our part in urging the African
American community to vote."
BET Networks has also partnered with several local radio stations in
each of the four cities to spread the message about Voter Registration
Day and get people out to the rallies and registered to vote. Other partnerships
include the NAACP, Hip Hop Caucus and UNITY '08.
Details for each rally are as follows:
PHILADELPHIA, PA
Location: The Met, 858 North Broad Street (between Poplar and Parrish
Streets)
Hosts: Terrence (106 & PARK) and Sharon Carpenter
(BET News)
Confirmed Talent: Q-Tip, Beanie Seagal, Young Chris
and Jurnee Smollett
Affiliated radio station: WDAS 105.3 / WUSL 98.9
CLEVELAND, OH
Location: Luke Easter Park -- 3090 Martin Luther
King Drive
Hosts: Tocarra (THE BLACK CARPET) and Jeff Johnson
(BET News)
Confirmed Talent: n/a
Affiliated radio station: WENZ 107.9
DETROIT, MI
Location: Reggie McKenzie Field -- 10 Pitkin Avenue, Highland Park,
MI (between Hamilton and 3rd Street)
Hosts: Q45 (RAP CITY) and Jina Johnson (BET News)
Confirmed Talent: Brandy, Ray J and Marvin Williams
Jr.
Affiliated radio station: WHTD 102.7
NORFOLK, VA
Location: Crispus Attucks Cultural Center -- 1010 Church Street (between
Virginia Blvd. and Church Street)
Hosts: Toure and Danella (THE BLACK CARPET)
Confirmed Talent: Clipse, DJ Khaled and Coko (formerly
of SWV)
Affiliated radio station: WVKL 95.7 / WNVZ 104.5
The "STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD: THE BET VOTER REGISTRATION DAY" special
is a strong example of BET Networks' dedicated, multiplatform approach
to covering the 2008 presidential election. Over the course of the campaigns,
BET Networks has devoted hours of on-air programming on BET and BET J,
live coverage, daily news specials, public service announcements, and extended
news briefs, in addition to extensive coverage online and on BET On Blast,
BET's broadband channel.
Additionally, BET Networks offered live coverage every night of the
Democratic National Convention, along with four BET News specials that
delved into key issues of the presidential election. The network also aired
extended news briefs and special editions of THE TRUTH WITH JEFF JOHNSON
during both the DNC and the Republican National Convention. More details
on BET Networks' efforts are below:
ON BET
-- YOU(th) VOTE! Sound-Offs -- BET has gathered YOU(th) VOTE! Sound-Offs
to air on BET.
-- Extended News Briefs -- BET News correspondents have filed reports
each week. These reports put the historic nature of this election in context
and examine the issues as they relate to the Black community. Reports have
been integrated into 106 & PARK, RAP CITY and THE BLACK CARPET.
-- Public Service Announcements -- Throughout the election cycle, BET
is airing "BE HEARD," a series of special public service announcements
encouraging viewers to make a difference and vote.
ON BET.COM
-- Decision '08 -- BET.com's comprehensive Decision '08 site provides
up-to-the-minute coverage of the presidential election, including breaking
news, photo flipbooks, articles, polls and quizzes.
-- YOU(th) VOTE! Blog -- YOU(th) VOTE! bloggers give frequent updates
on the perspectives and opinions coming from young people about the election.
-- "Pamela on Politics" Blog -- The blog by Pamela Gentry, Senior Political
Producer, BET News, provides daily, up-to-the-minute, close-up coverage
of the presidential campaign.
-- Weekly Polls -- Weekly polls survey our users on the hot-button issues
of the day.
-- Video -- Missed it on TV? BET News video from the campaign trail
and other related political coverage are available for the BET audience
to watch online. BET News also offers exclusive political coverage online.
For more on the "STAND UP, SIGN UP, BE HEARD: THE BET VOTER REGISTRATION
DAY" special and other 2008 presidential election coverage from BET Networks,
please visit http://www.bet.com/beheard.
*Please note: The voter registration special will premiere LIVE on the
East Coast, and will be tape delayed in the Central, Mountain and Pacific
time zones.
About BET Networks
BET Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA - News, VIA.B - News),
is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news
and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience.
The primary BET channel reaches more than 87 million households according
to Nielsen Media Research, and can be seen in the U.S., Canada and the
Caribbean. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse
group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading internet destination for
Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; BET Digital Networks --
BET J, BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge
entertainment tastes; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management
and production company; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded
offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand;
BET Mobile, which provides ring tones, games and video content for wireless
devices; and BET International, an extension of BET network programming
for global distribution.
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