New York, New York — In an unprecedented collaboration, MTV News and CNN announced today the joint production of a series of news reports examining various aspects of life for young people in Afghanistan. Beginning on Monday, December 17, the segments will premiere on MTV Daily News at 8:50 p.m. and then throughout the week on NewsNight with Aaron Brown at 10-11 p.m.

Reported by CNN correspondent and former MTV Choose or Lose 2000 Street Team member, Jason Bellini, the segments will be based on questions from young Americans, taped by an MTV News crew in New York City, directed to Afghan youth. Reporting from Afghanistan, Bellini will pose these questions to Afgahn youth and explore the answers in five news segments about how things have changed for young people in Afghanistan since September 11. Topics will include music; religion; lifestyle and entertainment; how Afghanistan youth perceive Americans; and what young people in Afghanistan are doing to rebuild their country and how young Americans can help in this process.

"We know that young adults have been watching CNN in unprecedented numbers these last three months, so this collaboration is timely and important, and one we're delighted to undertake," said Walter Isaacson, Chairman and CEO, CNN News Group. "Jason is one of CNN's exciting young reporters now covering Afghanistan, and we're pleased he could be involved in this worthy project."

"This is an immensely important collaboration," commented Dave Sirulnick, Executive Vice President MTV News and Production. "In the wake of September 11, our audience has turned to MTV for news and information more than ever before. These cooperative reports allow us an opportunity to help bridge the cultural gap between our audience and their counterparts in Afghanistan."

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom Inc., owns and operates five cable television programming services — MTV: Music Television, MTV 2, VH1, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, and TV Land — all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. Information about MTV and MTV 2 is available on MTV Online, on America Online (Keyword: MTV) and the World Wide Web (http://mtv.com).

CNN, a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., an AOL Time Warner Company, is one of the world's most respected and trusted sources for news and information. Its reach extends to 16 cable and satellite television networks; three private place-based networks; two radio networks; wireless devices around the world; 12 Web sites, including CNN.com, the first major news and information Web site; and CNN Newsource, the world's most extensively syndicated news service.