For Immediate Release:  Bunnie Strassner

July 2004                      (303) 545-9955

 

HOW DO YOU CELEBRATE AMERICA WHEN

OUR YOUNG PEOPLE AREN’T VOTING?

 

New TV Show Engages Youth with

 Zip, Pizzazz, Juice, and Two Cute Co-Hosts!

 

It’s the 4^th of July in a major election year and our youth are avoiding the polls in droves.  In fact, in the last presidential election, only about 36% of 18 to 24 year olds turned out to vote.  How do you engage an entire generation that doesn’t know, trust, or even care about politics?

 

Guerrilla Guide to Politics (GGP) is a hip, high-energy, irreverent look at how young people can become involved in the democratic process.  Instead of being preachy, it speaks to the audience with friendly banter, empowering them to exercise their civic muscles.  The show breaks down complicated civics lessons into manageable segments, highlighting practical topics such as how to register, how to vote, and how to contact public officials.  By using a cutting edge sound track, quick cuts, and high-powered graphics, Guerrilla Guide never loses its young audience. 

 

“I think that young people are more alienated than apathetic – they do care about public affairs but seldom participate because traditional programming fails to engage them about how democracy is relevant to their daily lives”, says Jim Rettew, creator and host of the show.  Guerrilla Guide starts good habits early by providing a ‘how-to’ citizens’ guide to the political process, making it user-friendly, informative, and entertaining.   “Voting is the most basic denominator of our civic life.  If you don’t vote, chances are you won’t do anything else,” says Alexis Anzalone, GGP’s co-host and a recent graduate of the University of Colorado at Boulder, School of Journalism.

 

Fascinating Learning Factory, a 501c3 non-profit corporation, produced the first episode and has received letters of commitment from the NETA (National Educational Telecommunications Assn.) and Westlink to distribute the show nationally to the Public Broadcasting System.  Guerrilla Guide is perfect for commercial channels like MTV or The Learning Channel and segments can be used as interstitials on news programs. GGP will also be available for home and school sales.  Supplemental classroom materials will be created to accompany the programs, as well as an interactive website. 

 

For more information, check out our website at www.fascinatinglearningfactory.org or call Executive Producer Bunnie Strassner at 303-545-9955.

 

 

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