Stand and Deliver

摘要

MTV News plays it straight: Choose or lose. "The President works for them. If they don't exercise their voice, it goes unheard," says Dave Sirulnick, executive vice president of news and productions. With the 2004 election fast approaching and the candidates in a neck-and-neck race, MTV News is determined to spread its message: Politics matter. The economy, the war in Iraq, and rising gas prices affect young voters. Intensely. But will they listen? Voter turnout among 18- to 24-year-olds was highest in 1972, when the voting age dropped from 21 to 18. In that historic year, 12.2 million young people cast ballots. In 2000, just 8.6 million in the age group went to the polls. Statistically speaking, that's pathetic. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates there are 29 million Americans 18-24. (Some 105 million voted in the Gore v. Bush battle.) MTV isn't fazed.