Ethnic Nets Get Political

(Multichannel News) _ Minority networks are hitting the campaign trail with unprecedented on-air and online coverage of the Republican and Democratic presidential candidates.

African-American targeted networks Black Entertainment Television and TV One, for instance, are planning significant, multiplatform coverage of the historic presidential run of African-American Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.). Meanwhile, several Hispanic-targeted networks and the Asian-Americangeared ImaginAsian TV are developing grass-roots campaigns to encourage their audiences to register and vote.

With almost 9 million Latinos expected to vote in the 2008 presidential elections, Hispanic-targeted TV networks have stepped up efforts to mobilize Hispanics to take part, first by encouraging them to apply for U.S. citizenship and then to go out and cast a vote.

Univision has the most comprehensive get-out-the-vote effort in place. In November 2007, it partnered with the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), ImpreMedia, Entravision and other organizations to launch Ya es Hora, ?Ve y Vota! (It's Time, Go Vote!) a nonpartisan, national voter mobilization effort targeting U.S. Hispanics. The campaign seeks to increase Latino voter registration
and turnout in the 2008 presidential elections through a multimedia campaign that encompasses grassroots, print, online and broadcast reach.