President Clinton to Inaugurate mtvU 'Editorial Board' Series at CGI U in New Orleans

NEW YORK, March 11 /PRNewswire/ -- mtvU, MTV's Emmy-winning college network, today greenlighted a new series that will break down the walls between top student journalists and the influential national figures shaping the world college students will soon inherit. Former U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton will be the first participant in the mtvU "Editorial Board" series, which will build on the time-honored publishing tradition of the editorial board meeting. The sessions will give selected writers and editors from mtvU's College Media Network, a collection of more than 550 online college publications, an unprecedented opportunity to go well beyond canned answers and sound bytes -- delving deep into the issues that matter most to today's college students.

As part of the inaugural Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) meeting, Bill Clinton, the 42nd President of the United States of America, will kick off the mtvU "Editorial Board" series March 16th in New Orleans, Louisiana, in conjunction with the Tulane Hullabaloo, the independent student newspaper of Tulane University. The session will feature four standout student journalists from around the country -- serving as the voice of the national college audience -- going in depth with President Clinton on the critical issues of our time. The student participants will come armed with questions submitted by journalists from across the College Media Network. Highlights from the forum will be available on mtvU.com later in the day; the full short-form episode, "mtvU Editorial Board: President Bill Clinton" will premiere on mtvU and mtvU.com March 26th at noon ET/PT.

"mtvU 'Editorial Boards' will empower college students to advance the rich tradition of the editorial board meeting, fostering an intimate, candid discussion between tomorrow's leaders and those making history today," said Stephen Friedman, GM, mtvU. "The series is part of our commitment to shining a national spotlight on top student talent -- always serving up new, career-launching opportunities -- and we're honored to have President Clinton's participation for the first of these groundbreaking forums."

The first-ever mtvU "Editorial Board," with President Clinton, will coincide with the inaugural meeting of CGI U, a new project from the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI), taking place in New Orleans from March 14th-16th. The project will challenge college students and universities to tackle global problems with practical, innovative solutions. More than 700 college students are expected to come together for the meeting, to learn about pressing global issues and make commitments to take action. The students will be joined by university presidents and administrators, leading non-profits, social entrepreneurs and youth leaders. Students who do not attend the meeting in New Orleans can watch it live on CGI U's website http://www.cgiu.org/ and participate virtually by making their own commitment.

Students hand-picked to participate in the mtvU "Editorial Board" series will have established themselves as among the smartest, most aggressive and enterprising student journalists in the country. Each editorial board meeting will be presented in conjunction with a different College Media Network member paper. Future installments of the series will be announced in the weeks and months ahead.

mtvU's College Media Network is the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US, including nearly 550 campus publications that serve institutions such as Brown University, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University. In total, the network serves universities with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, and reaches an average of 5 million unique users each month. Student publications in the Network have free access to College Publisher, the only online publishing system designed specifically for the needs of today's campus newspaper. This cutting edge, web-based suite of tools allows multiple users to control all facets of digital publishing, including content management, multimedia administration and online advertising.

About CGI U

The Clinton Global Initiative and CGI U are non-partisan projects of the William J. Clinton Foundation with an emphasis on results. CGI U attendees will participate in workshops and meetings focused on four main topics that are of particular importance to college students: energy & climate change, human rights and peace, global health, and poverty alleviation. Attendees make specific commitments to address one of the topics covered and report to President Clinton on the progress made throughout the course of the coming year. On the Web at http://www.cgiu.org/ and http://www.clintonfoundation.org/.

About mtvU

Broadcast to more than 750 college campuses and via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches upwards of 9 million U.S. college students -- making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S., as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on campus. mtvU programs music videos from emerging artists that can't be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change. mtvU is always on campus, with more than 500 events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more. For more information about mtvU, and a complete programming schedule, visit http://www.mtvu.com/.

mtvU also owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the US, and RateMyProfessors.com, the Internet's largest listing of collegiate professor ratings. The College Media Network comprises 550 campus publications that serve institutions including Brown University, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University, with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, reaching an average of 5 million unique users each month. RateMyProfessors.com reaches approximately 2.9 million college students each month, via the site's more than 6.6 million student-generated ratings of over 1,000,000 college professors.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom , is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 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/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.