MTV and ZYNC from American Express(SM) Name 18 Candidates for First Ever MTV TJ 'Twitter Jockey'

NEW YORK, June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- ZYNC from American Express and MTV, a division of Viacom Inc (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) today announce the 18 individuals selected as candidates for the "Follow Me: The Search for the first MTV TJ" competition, www.zync.mtv.com, in which 20 social media enthusiasts go head-to-head in Twitter challenges with the end goal of becoming the first MTV TJ "Twitter Jockey." The public still has an opportunity to nominate their choices to fill the two remaining candidate slots via the ZYNC(SM) Card Facebook page, www.facebook.com/zync or at www.zync.mtv.com.  The sites logged nearly 300,000 total submissions* for people nominating themselves and their fellow Twitter users since the public nomination process kicked off a week ago on Monday, June 14.

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MTV mined social media networks, including posting the coveted job via MTV's Twitter and Facebook pages, to seek out, identify and select the 18 candidates that are active in social media and have a unique voice and passion for music and pop culture.

Additional aspiring candidates can nominate themselves and other Twitter users through www.zync.mtv.com or the ZYNC Card Facebook page, www.facebook.com/zync, through June 27.  MTV will choose two of these nominees and add them to the 18 already selected hopefuls, bringing the total to 20 lucky candidates for one of the hottest jobs.

Candidates will participate in a series of challenges created with ZYNC from American Express. The search will culminate with a live televised finale on August 8, when five remaining finalists will battle it out live on the air. The MTV audience will then choose the winner from the final five. That one lucky person will be hired to become a brand-new face and voice for MTV across social media platforms, including MTV.com, to expand the two-way dialog between MTV and its global audience. This first-ever MTV TJ will serve as the eyes and ears for the audiences back home, asking what fans want to know about their favorite celebrities, reporting on what's going on in the halls of MTV, and more.

"Follow Me: The Search for the first MTV TJ" comes on the heels of the official launch of the ZYNC Card, a new Charge Card from American Express that gives Cardmembers the framework to build a Card that best suits their lifestyle. The ZYNC Card allows Cardmembers to customize their Cards by adding optional bundles of benefits called Packs, which offer additional rewards and benefits in specific lifestyle areas, such as music, fashion, giving back and many more.

The Hunt for Two Final MTV TJ Job Candidates (June 14-July 6)

Aspiring candidates can nominate themselves and other Twitter users via www.zync.mtv.com or the ZYNC Card Facebook page, www.facebook.com/zync. Nominations will be open through June 27.  MTV will choose two of these candidates and add them to the 18 already selected hopefuls, bringing the total to 20 candidates.  

The Competition (July 7- August 7)

The competition officially kicks off on MTV.com on July 7 with the wanna-be MTV TJ's competing in a series of Twitter challenges that range from discovering a local band to interviewing MTV talent. Judging will be done by an internal committee and TweetLevel, http://tweetlevel.edelman.com, a specialized tweet-scoring service developed by Edelman that will measure a range of factors, including influence, popularity, engagement and trust. After five challenges, four candidates will advance to the finals, with one remaining slot to be voted on by fans via the ZYNC Card Facebook community and announced on July 21. The five finalists will leave their hometowns and descend on the Big Apple for the final round of face-to-face challenges.

Live Finale on MTV (August 8)

After weeks of intense challenges, the competition will jump to television for the finale on August 8 from 10 – 11 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, where the final five candidates will square off live on the air in a series of ZYNC Card inspired elimination rounds. Only two candidates will be left standing to make one last plea to the MTV audience, who will then text vote for a winner. After the nationwide votes are tallied, the first MTV TJ will be announced. The MTV TJ will begin work immediately, reporting for the first high-profile assignment at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on September 12.

More details:

• Meet the 18 Job  Candidates: http://zync.mtv.com/2010/06/16/introducing-the-18
• Nomination Page: www.zync.mtv.com
• Contest rules and additional info can be found on: www.zync.mtv.com/about
• ZYNC Card Facebook page: www.facebook.com/zync

*Figure includes duplicate submissions for some nominees

About ZYNC from American Express

ZYNC from American Express is a new pay-in-full Charge Card. Cardmembers can customize the ZYNC Card by adding optional bundles of benefits called Packs, which offer rewards and benefits in specific lifestyle areas, such as music, giving back, fashion, food, travel and more. The ZYNC Card is available for an annual fee of $25 and Packs vary in price from no additional cost to $25 per year. ZYNC Cardmembers are enrolled in the Membership Rewards Express® program and get one Membership Rewards point for every eligible dollar of spending, valuable retail and travel protections, and award-winning customer service. For more information, please visit www.zynccard.com.  

About MTV

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 28 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24 and P12-34.  Online, MTV.com averaged 24.5 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2010 -- up +8% from Q4/2009 and up +13% year-over-year. Average video streams for the first quarter of 2010 increased +8% from the Q4/2009 and is up +6% over the same time period last year.  And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2 and mtvU each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving young males, music fans, and college students like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in... www.mtvpress.com.

SOURCE MTV