NEWS: Burnett, MySpace get political

Social Networks/Myspace/Politics
Found on: variety.com

Emmy-award winning television producer Mark Burnett has teamed up with Myspace to launch "Independent" a new hybrid online-reality-social network-television show.

A quick shout out to my boy Yau Man - hope you win!

Variety's post:

Mark Burnett Prods. is partnering with MySpace to discover the modern-day Mr. Smith.

The two entities are behind “Independent,” an online project targeted to become a full-fledged TV series built around a search to find the next great politician.

The show, timed to the 2008 elections, hasn’t yet been pitched to networks. It comes with a $1 million prize … and a catch: Winner must donate the money to a political cause or use it to run for office.

“This is the ‘American Idol’ of political action,” said Burnett development head Roy Bank. “We’ve been exploring for a while how to do something in and around what is going to be the topic on everyone’s tongues next year — the elections. We wanted it to be legit, and there’s no greater democracy in play right now for people in their 20s than MySpace.”