America Online Announces Campaign 2000 Coverage Plans

America Online Announces Campaign 2000 Coverage Plans PresidentMatch Tool Allows Voters to Find, Compare Candidates with Closest Matching Political Views Dulles, VA, January 14, 2000 -- America Online, Inc. [NYSE: AOL] today unveiled its Campaign 2000 coverage plans, including a full range of resources to provide voters with in-depth information on local and national candidates, an interactive tool to help voters find the candidate whose views are closest to their own, and comprehensive behind-the-scenes convention and election coverage. In partnership with DNet (the Democracy Network) and the League of Women Voters, AOL also launched an ongoing online debate between the presidential candidates. Through the AOL debate forum, presidential candidates will be able to post their positions on the issues and respond to their opponents' postings in a rolling cyber-debate. The debate will be extended to Senate, House, gubernatorial and other state-level candidates as the primary process unfolds. "For voters, the AOL Campaign 2000 area will be the online equivalent of a forum with all of the candidates in your living room on the issues you most care about," said Kathleen deLaski, AOL's Director of Political Programming. "From the convenience of their homes, voters can access background information and issue positions for each of the candidates, check out the candidates' own web resources, use the PresidentMatch tool to find the candidate who shares their personal views, and follow an ongoing interactive online debate." "Our long-standing partnership with AOL has ushered in a number of firsts in online democracy and this new Election 2000 component promises to be no different," said Robert Hansan, president of Capitol Advantage. "Not only will AOL users have an online, front-row seat to virtually every election race in the country, but they will be able to participate in the election process through online chat rooms, bulletin boards and by directly e-mailing candidates and other elected officials." "DNet brings candidates, ballot measures committees and voters together in a new online electronic mall, where users can review candidates' views, ask questions and ultimately cast more informed ballots," said Tracy Westen, president of the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles. "Using these resources, voters can engage in nearly every part of the political process -- from gathering information, comparing positions, watching debates, and even getting involved -- all through the online medium," added deLaski. "We think this represents another important step forward in the development of the political process online." Key elements of AOL's Campaign 2000 coverage include: * PresidentMatch -- Using AOL's proprietary Personalogic technology and in partnership with CBS News, PresidentMatch allows voters to enter and prioritize their political beliefs and find the presidential candidate with the closest matching views. The tool also lets voters compare various presidential contenders on the issues that matter most to them. All eight major Democratic and Republican candidates responded to issue questionnaires to help develop PresidentMatch. * Ongoing Cyber-Debates -- In partnership with DNet (the Democracy Network) and the League of Women Voters, AOL's debate forum will give candidates the chance to participate in an ongoing interactive debate with one another by posting policy stances and responding to their opponents' positions. * ElectionGuide 2000 -- Working with its partner Capitol Advantage, AOL will offer a localized voter guide with information and links on candidates from the presidential contest down to state legislative races. By entering their zip code, voters will be able to find personalized news, polls, message boards, candidate web sites, and other information for more than 5,000 races across the country. * Primary coverage -- AOL will provide comprehensive coverage around each major primary, including New Hampshire, Yankee Tuesday, Super Tuesday, and others, with live news and analysis of results and events from the field. * Beyond gavel-to-gavel convention coverage -- AOL will provide live gavel-to-gavel streaming audio and video coverage of the major political conventions and connect users at home with top candidates, political figures, and analysts through live chats, interviews, message boards, and profiles. In addition to campaign and convention coverage, AOL also plans to offer online voter registration tools to help get more people involved in the political process. Since 1996, AOL has pioneered online political coverage that allows members to take control of the political process by cutting through the sound bites to access issue positions and connect with candidates directly. In early 1999, AOL introduced My Government, enabling interactive users to identify their elected officials simply by typing in their zip code, send e-mails to their representatives, track how Congress voted on key issues and learn more about upcoming issues. AOL's ElectionGuide 2000 tools will be accessible through AOL Keyword: Election Guide, on AOL.com and on the Web at www.electionguide2000.com.