How MTV Uses Its Connection to Kids to Push Social Change

How MTV Uses Its Connection to Kids to Push Social Change
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In between monitoring unannounced celebrity cameos at the VMAs and overseeing the creation of the next hit TV show, Stephen Friedman, MTV's president, prioritizes a company-wide dedication to social responsibility.

When he hears statistics about high teen pregnancy rates, Darfur's mass genocide or the frequency of depression among youth in the U.S., he sees an opportunity to impact MTV's audience for good. Fascinated by the media's ability to catalyze change, Friedman joined MTV in 1998 to kick off the company's first department of Strategic Partnerships and Public Affairs. Now that he is president, business and social responsibility are a fluid entity. Friedman's generosity is deeply embedded, it's simply part of his core, and he works tirelessly to ensure that the social values MTV was founded upon -- and which parent company Viacom strongly support -- are amplified.

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