MTV: The Main Event
By Staff -- Broadcasting & Cable, 6/20/2004 8:00:00 PM
He's just 26, but Gideon Yago, MTV News' lead reporter, is covering his second presidential election. And he has already logged time in Afghanistan and Iraq. Yago talked to B&C about how MTV talks politics to young viewers.
How does MTV News different from CNN or NBC?
We are not in the business of breaking stories. We look for a peg into any major story with the issues that affect young people. If it is war, we're looking for young faces; if [the issue is] jobs, we're looking at an entry-level worker. Our coverage is about young people, for young people.
What stories would you like to do?
Gas prices and the relationship of the U.S. to foreign oil. I'd like to go back to Iraq. That's a story that will be going on long past June 30.
When a young guy with a beard and tattoos wants an interview, how do people react?
They don't look at me, they look at the MTV mike cube. People treat that thing like a relic. In New Hampshire in 2000, we walked right by the Secret Service with no credentials at 3 a.m. at the Manchester airport to talk to Bush, McCain, Gore, and Bradley. They saw the mike and said, "OK."
B&C: Why do you think more young people don't vote?
18 million young people voted in the last election. It is hard to say that young people don't vote. That [number] is bigger than the evangelicals, NASCAR dads, or soccer moms. And maybe that's a misconception that we can roll back.
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