Lifetime Networks, CosmoGIRL! and Declare Yourself Launch the Future Frontrunners Contest to Search for Tomorrow's Madame President

NEW YORK, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Lifetime Networks, CosmoGIRL! and the nonpartisan, nonprofit organization Declare Yourself, today announced the launch of the 2008 Future Frontrunners contest to identify and inspire the next generation of women leaders. The contest offers 16 lucky winners the once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the country's top women in politics at a Future Frontrunners summit during the Democratic National Convention inDenver or the Republican National Convention inSaint Paul, MN.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080519/NYM111 )

To enter, contestants must submit either a written or video entry at myLifetime.com answering the question, "What would you do if you were president?" Winning entries will be selected by a distinguished panel of judges, including:

    -- Congresswoman Kay Granger (R-TX)
    -- Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY)
    -- Leah D. Daughtry, CEO of the Democratic National Convention Committee
       (DNCC)
    -- Maria Cino, President & CEO of the 2008 Republican National Convention
    -- Jo Ann Davidson, Co-Chair, Republican National Committee
    -- Leticia Van de Putte, Permanent Convention Co-Chair, DNCC, and Texas
       State Senator
    -- Faye Wattleton, President, Center for the Advancement of Women
    -- Candy Crowley, Senior Political Correspondent, CNN
    -- Michelle Bernard, President, Independent Women's Forum
    -- Maria Teresa Peterson, Executive Director, Voto Latino
    -- Ellen Goodman, Boston Globe columnist
    -- Carol Jenkins, President, The Women's Media Center
    -- Meredith Wagner, Executive Vice President, Lifetime Networks
    -- Susan Schulz, Editor-in-Chief, CosmoGIRL!
    -- Diana Nguyen, Associate Director, Declare Yourself

As role models for girls and women around the world, the panel's extraordinary talent, dedication and success embody the spirit of this competition.

To encourage young women across the country to enter the contest, Lifetime Networks will air a public service announcement (PSA) featuring artist and actress Ashlee Simpson, who is currently promoting her new album Bittersweet World, on Lifetime, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and myLifetime.com throughout the month of May to mid-June. CosmoGIRL! will promote Future Frontrunners in its June/July issue and on cosmogirl.com. Additionally, Declare Yourself will highlight the contest on its web site and through e-newsletters.

"I am so excited to use my voice to get young girls thinking about their future and how they can change the world," said Simpson. "This contest is a really cool opportunity to get girls involved in voting and the political process."

Future Frontrunners, first created in 2004, is part of Lifetime Networks' award-winning, nonpartisan Every Woman Counts campaign to encourage women to speak out on issues they care about most, vote and run for office.

The summit will bring the Future Frontrunners together with members of Congress, key political and business leaders, journalists and advocates to learn leadership skills, how to impact public policy, and the importance of the women's vote. Winners will also be acknowledged in an on-air PSA on Lifetime and featured online at myLifetime.com, cosmogirl.com and declareyourself.com.

The competition, open to women nationwide ages 16-22, runs through June 16th. Winners will be announced in August. For more information, go to myLifetime.com.

About Every Woman Counts:

Every Woman Counts is the only public service campaign dedicated to encouraging women to speak out on the issues they care about most, vote and run for office. For the first time, the 2008 Every Woman Counts initiative will leverage the power of the #1 and #2 television networks' for women -- Lifetime and Lifetime Movie Network (LMN) -- and include the most extensive on-air programming, digital content and grassroots efforts to date. To expand the effort and reach women everywhere they live, work and play, Lifetime launched the first-ever Every Woman Counts media and advocacy coalition in partnership with REDBOOK, CosmoGIRL!, Marie Claire, celebrities, experts and hundreds of women's nonprofit organizations representing more than 15 million women from all sides of the political spectrum.

LIFETIME is the leader in women's television and one of the top-rated basic cable television networks. A diverse, multi-media company, LIFETIME is committed to offering the highest quality entertainment and information programming, and advocating a wide range of issues affecting women and their families. LIFETIME Television, Lifetime Movie Network, Lifetime Real Women and Lifetime Digital (including myLifetime.com) are part of LIFETIME Entertainment Services, a 50/50 joint venture of Hearst Corporation and The Walt Disney Company.

About CosmoGIRL!/Project 2024

CosmoGIRL! (www.cosmogirl.com) empowers and inspires young women to be leaders in all aspects of their lives. From setting the latest trends to standing up for what they believe in, our readers were Born To Lead. CosmoGIRL! publishes ten issues annually, as well as CosmoGIRL! Prom. Teens can also interact with the brand on the digital front, with CosmoGIRL.com, CosmoGIRL! mobile (m.cosmogirl.com), and an original webisode series covering up-and-coming fashion designers. In addition to its U.S. flagship, CosmoGIRL! publishes 7 editions around the world. The magazine is published by Hearst Magazines, a unit of Hearst Corporation (www.hearst.com) and one of the world's largest publishers of monthly magazines, with nearly 200 editions around the world, including 19 U.S. titles and 20 magazines in theUnited Kingdom, published through its wholly owned subsidiary, The National Magazine Company Limited. Hearst reaches more adults than any other publisher of monthly magazines (77.4 million total adults, according to MRI, Fall 2007).

About Declare Yourself

Declare Yourself, founded by Norman Lear, is a national nonpartisan, nonprofit campaign to empower and encourage every eligible 18-29-year-old in America to register and vote in the 2008 presidential election. Using the power of strategic media partnerships, celebrity spokespeople, the sports arena, and most importantly, mobile and Internet technology, Declare Yourself's campaign blankets the landscape of popular culture with a simple, clear message: REGISTER and VOTE! Declare Yourself registered 1.2 million young people in 2004 and has targeted 2 million registrations in 2008.

SOURCE Lifetime Networks

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Tags: Politics, Republicans and Democrats, new york

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