CLEVELAND, Aug. 6, 2014 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sixteen-year-old activist and award-winning filmmaker Andrew Demeter today announced an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to launch POLITICAST, aiming to become the first news and political broadcasting network run entirely by teenagers. POLITICAST will offer teens already interested in politics, but who lack a voice, a platform to communicate key political issues to the world; and, by syndicating its content via social media, POLITICAST looks to galvanize the world's politically inactive youth, likewise developing an interest in policy matters that affect us all.
Demeter is an independent journalist and political commentator, appearing on Yahoo, Fox News, C-SPAN, and RT. He has extensively covered Bitcoin, U.S. foreign policy, genetically-modified organisms, and — most notably — domestic surveillance, an issue on which he recently confronted Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. Demeter also runs TeenTake, a YouTube channel with a "youthful libertarian" focus.
"The youth is the literal future of our country. Problem is, we are politically powerless until age eighteen. Though a legitimate restriction to some extent, this disenfranchisement is just one cause of our youth's political apathy. Why should we bother to understand politics if we can't even vote?" said Demeter. "What's more, politics are intentionally confusing, esoteric. The media's buzzwords coupled with the bureaucratic lexicon of policymakers on Capitol Hill is intimidating...even for adults. Ultimately, it is difficult for teens to 'translate' politics because they don't know where to begin. POLITICAST offers the starting point," he continued.
To actualize POLITICAST, Demeter and his team will use funding to:
- Rent a professional-grade TV studio capable of live, HD broadcasting, collaborative editing, and global video conferencing.
- Assign and delegate youth contributors to produce local, national, and even international, on-location video reports.
- Simplify buzzwords and bureaucratic language, without dilution of information, so as to render vital news accessible and easy to understand.
About POLITICAST:
POLITICAST is the first news and political broadcasting network run entirely by teenagers. It offers teens interested in politics, but who lack a voice, a platform to communicate key political issues to the world. POLITICAST was created by award-winning filmmaker and political activist Andrew Demeter.