Three Days Until World AIDS Day, December 1

Thanks to Shawn Lea at Everything and Nothing for forwarding the following to me.

NEWS RELEASE

MTV in Partnership with Kaiser Family Foundation Dedicates the Week Leading Up to World AIDS Day to HIV-focused Programming and Online Content

HIV Special Program Includes Appearances by Nelly Furtado, Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keyes, and Richard Gere

New PSAs Premiere from renowned Director Joel Schumacher

November 27, 2006 — Today MTV Networks in partnership with the Kaiser Family Foundation announced they will be dedicating the week leading up to December 1, World AIDS Day, to informing and engaging young people on the HIV/AIDS epidemic. The week will feature a combination of long-form entertainment documentaries about HIV/AIDS, new public service announcements (PSAs), new online content, and a series of MTV News reports taking an in-depth look at the latest in prevention, treatment, and efforts toward a vaccine for HIV/AIDS. This intensified period of HIV-themed programming is part of thinkHIV, a long-term collaboration between MTV and Kaiser to raise awareness and empower young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

MTV will also broadcast HIV-themed programming, including PSAs and MTV News content, on its 800 square-foot high-definition video screen overlooking New York’s Times Square.

Special Programming:

o thinkHIV: This is Me — to air on December 1 at 10:30 a.m. ET — is an entirely user-generated show in which young people themselves tell the story of how their generation has been impacted by HIV/AIDS. Part memorial and part testimonial, the short vignettes filmed entirely by young people paint a raw, intimate, and informative portrait of the epidemic’s impact on young Americans. The program was produced in partnership with MTV News & Docs and Kaiser as part of the ongoing initiative thinkHIV, and its related Web site thinkHIV.org.

o Staying Alive — 48fest — to air on Friday, December 1 at 10 a.m. ET — is a documentary following 48 young people as they progress through their many stages of film production at MTV’s 48fest film competition, held in conjunction with the 2006 International AIDS Conference in Toronto, Canada. The young participants had 48 hours to complete short vignettes on topics such as condom use, violence against women, testing, and discrimination and stigma. Hosted by Nelly Furtado and appearing Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keyes, and Richard Gere, the documentary was produced by MTV International’s multimedia global HIV and AIDS prevention and awareness program, Staying Alive.

o Black Book — a 5-minute film that premieres on mtvU and Über on December 1 — tells the story of a young man who is confronting the reality and responsibilities of living with HIV. It also offers a wry and insightful perspective on how the lead character’s HIV status impacts everyday life, including dating. The film was created through a special HIV/AIDS screenplay competition of KNOW HIV/AIDS — a joint initiative between the CBS Corporation and Viacom, in partnership with Kaiser. Darren J. Guttenberg, a junior at UCLA, wrote the screenplay and was the grand prize winner of the competition.

“In this 25th year of the AIDS epidemic, we are proud to be partnering again with the Kaiser Family Foundation to provide young people with the information they need to protect themselves,” said Brian Graden, President of Entertainment for MTVN Music Group and President of Logo. “World AIDS Day 2006 presents a great opportunity to dispel myths and educate our audience on the real progress being made in HIV prevention, treatment and vaccine development, and to give over MTV’s platforms to young people impacted by the disease.”

“The significant on-air and online programming that MTV is devoting to such a variety of high-quality HIV-themed programming clearly reinforces the network’s commitment to engaging its audiences in the fight against HIV/AIDS. Millions of young people will be reached and we’re hopeful that greater awareness about HIV/AIDS will influence behaviors and attitudes,” said Tina Hoff, vice president and director of Kaiser’s Entertainment Media Partnership program.

New Public Service Announcements:

In addition to special long-form programming, MTV will debut several new PSAs that will air across the network’s programming schedule, including:

o Fight for Her Rights — includes two new PSAs that focus on young women communicating with their partners about safe sex and HIV testing.

o Marvelyn PSAs — includes a new series of 8 PSAs directed by Joel Schumacher that feature Marvelyn Brown, a young African-American woman living with HIV. In these documentary style spots, Marvelyn speaks directly to the camera about relationships, risks associated with unprotected sex, learning that she’s HIV-positive, informing her family and friends, experiencing stigma and discrimination, and living with the disease.

Online Content at think.mtv.com:

New and updated information and video content on HIV treatment and prevention will be added to think.mtv.com, the primary Web site for the initiative.

MTV News:

MTV News is planning to provide in-depth reporting on HIV prevention, treatment and vaccine development. New news segments will air each day starting on Monday, November 27 in the lead up to World AIDS Day. All segments will be available on demand on think.mtv.com.

thinkHIV builds on both MTV and Kaiser’s long-term commitment to educating and empowering young people in the fight against HIV/AIDS. The campaign is part of a 10-year collaboration between the two organizations, currently called “think: Sexual Health.” To date, the Emmy and Peabody Award winning partnership has garnered more than 100 million viewers to its documentaries, 1.2 million calls to the campaign’s toll-free hotline (1-888-BE-SAFE-1), and has distributed more than 450,000 informational guides. On Monday, June 5, the 25th anniversary of the first HIV/AIDS diagnosis in the U.S., MTV won Cable Positive’s POP Award for Network of the Year – an award that recognizes the cable network whose programming made the most significant impact on raising public awareness on HIV/AIDS.

MTV Networks:

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 130 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services — MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services. The network also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation is a non-profit, private operating foundation dedicated to providing information and analysis on health issues to policymakers, the media, and the general public. It is not associated with Kaiser Permanente or Kaiser Industries. Information on HIV/AIDS is available at kff.org, and a daily news summary report on developments in HIV/AIDS is available on kaisernetwork.org, the Foundation’s free health information service.

For more information, contact:
Rob Graham, KFF, (650) 854-9400, rgraham@kff.org
Jay Jay Nesheim, MTV, (212) 846-7166, jayjay.nesheim@mtvstaff.com

This is thinkHIV.org’s logo: