Behind the Headlines: What Millennials Want to Watch

Behind the Headlines: Free The Children founders Craig and Marc Kielburger go behind the headlines to explore how the stories you read are connected to the causes you care about.

"All life's answers are on TV."

Words from Homer Simpson, sitcom sage, in what might be an arch commentary about the lack of moral direction on television. Otherwise he meant it literally. It's tough to tell when Homer is being ironic.

Alas, television has just gained a conscience in the form of Pivot TV, a cable network launched last week by Participant Media, the production company founded by billionaire-philanthropist Jeff Skoll, behind films The Help and Contagion, among other socially-relevant blockbusters.

Pivot targets do-gooding millennials (18-34,) and incorporates calls to action in its eclectic programming. Joseph Gordon-Levitt will host a crowd-sourced variety show that will turn to viewers for content ideas when it premieres in September. TakePart Live, a current affairs show now airing nightly, parses news headlines while its companion website takes viewers to petitions and awareness-raising campaigns related to causes featured on the network.

Pivot launched August 1 in the United States, but is available to Canadians on iTunes and through the network's app.

It's an intriguing concept: Help millennials answer life's big questions and change the world while watching television. But millennials, bombarded with information, tend to be skeptical, and they are notoriously elusive. Will they respond to calls to action presented on television?

If this basic premise worked, TVO would be rolling in money for all of their telethons. This is not the case. But those at Participant Media certainly get how to make moral lessons highly entertaining. The issue-based films Participant has produced -- Charlie Wilson's War, The Crazies, The Informant, among dozens of others -- have sent people to the movies in droves.

Before drawing up some of the social themes for their programming, Pivot sought answers to the mystery: "What do millennials want?"

Millennials, polled by Pivot, were worried about news bias, social media scams and online privacy. Polls suggested that respondents felt they weren't adept at media literacy, and in response, media education and transparency became a prime focus for the network.

It makes sense that young people would be searching for context. When most everything on television is either vapid, overtly biased, or a parody of these extremes, what is missing is authenticity. Millennials might be craving solutions to issues instead of satire. Homer Simpson without irony.

If anyone needs a dose of reality with their entertainment, it's those poised to inherit an ailing planet. Young people should respond to solutions presented along with the problems they see on the news.

And, unlike weak attempts to capture young viewers by adding hashtags to traditional programming, the network has tapped into two millennial traits: our media consumption habits along with our do-something mentality. Crowd-sourced entertainment and interactive news meets social action. It's arming the next generation with knowledge and a positive outlet. Pivot is an experiment, true, but we should all be hoping that it works.

We've known Jeff Skoll for a long time. We've worked with Participant Media in the past on social media campaigns, most recently on advocacy around Last Call At The Oasis, a documentary on the global water crisis. When Skoll travelled with us in Kenya, he shared memories of his childhood. As a boy, Skoll told us he spent hours lost in the dystopic world of Aldous Huxley novels, wary of an extreme sci-fi future of dwindling resources and government monopolies. He's always been drawn to storytelling as a means to increase social capital.

If anyone can lure millennials with entertainment linked to social action, it's Participant Media.

We'll be watching.

Craig and Marc Kielburger are co-founders of international charity and educational partner, Free The Children. Its youth empowerment event, We Day, is in 11 cities across North America this year, inspiring more than 160,000 attendees from over 4,000 schools. For more information, visit www.weday.com.

8 Biggest Career Mistakes Of 20-Somethings

You Think You Can't Make Money While Pursuing Your Passion(01 of08)

Twenty-somethings often think that their career is an either-or choice between fulfilling a passion or earning a lot of money, Dr. Meg Jay, a clinical psychologist who specializes in 20-somethings, told The Huffington Post. But 20-somethings should be looking for a career that can fulfill their passion while meeting financial needs. It's possible. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Stay On A Path You Know Is Not Right For Too Long(02 of08)

Twenty-somethings should be building a career that they want for the long haul, said Alexis Grant, an entrepreneurial writer and digital strategist. "If you realize you are not doing the right thing, figure out how to get on the right road as soon as possible. Don’t worry so much about lost time or lost investments," she said. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Think 'I'll Really Start My Career At 30'(03 of08)

Young professionals often think that the jobs they have in their 20s "don't matter," Dr. Jay said. But employees in their 20s should be in jobs that are helping them build "identity capital," so they can figure out where they want to be at the next stage of their career. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Compare Yourself To Your Peers(04 of08)

In school, students find themselves doing roughly the same things as their peers, which makes it easy to compare their accomplishments to others. But after college, comparisons are "just too complex to be useful," Dr. Jay explains. People also tend to only compare themselves to those who seem to be doing better than they are, which can lead to feelings of depression, she added. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Act Entitled(05 of08)

Twenty-somethings who had over-involved parents can sometimes think that they deserve an easy ride at work, Dani Ticktin Koplik, an executive and performance coach, told Forbes. This can have a devastating effect on their career, not to mention their relationships with superiors. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Aren't Mindful Of Social Media Use(06 of08)

Twelve percent of hiring managers said it's a mistake for millennial job candidates to discuss a job interview on personal social media sites, according to a recent survey by Adecco, a human resources consulting company. Not being professional on social media can cost people their jobs as well. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Are Not Building Something For Yourself, Just Your Employer(07 of08)

In today's working world, 20-somethings really need to be thinking about what they can walk away with when they inevitably switch employers, Grant said. "Throw yourself into your day job, but also build something for you because you will likely not be in your job forever," she said. Grant suggested writing a blog or working on obtaining a Twitter following. (credit:Shutterstock)

You Worry Too Much About Current Work-Life Balance(08 of08)

Young professionals will sometimes think that they are working too hard now and that it will be like that for the rest of their career, Dr. Jay said. What young professionals should really be thinking about is if they are in a job that will provide them with work-life balance in the future when they will be thinking about starting a family and other life decisions. (credit:Shutterstock)

Craig Kielburger Free The Children Impact Jeff Skoll Marc Kielburger

Behind the Headlines: What Millennials Want to Watch

Related

From Our Partner