Erica Anderson, 23, was recently appointed MTV’s District of Columbia correspondent, reporting on D.C. affairs for the music network as it covers the national elections and tries to get young people out to vote.
What are you going to do that’s different from what previous [MTV] correspondents have done?
I come from the Midwest, so I bring that perspective. I think I’m going to push the envelope on how we can engage young people.
What do you mean, “push the envelope?”
Get creative, come up with new ways to tell stories.
Why do you think young people don’t vote?
I think young people feel un-engaged. I think they’re sometimes complacent because there are so many distractions.
There are a lot of special questions that are unique to D.C. — states rights, for instance. Do you think you’ll raise that?
Absolutely. When I found out I was a finalist, MTV asked me to create a three-minute video on an important political or social issue in the District. What I chose was the D.C. Voting Rights Act. I think that’s something that I’ll continue, through the 11 months of reporting, to try to shed light on.
What do you think is the biggest story of interest to your demographic that the major media is missing?
If you’re looking at D.C., it’s simply the fact that there’s 600,000 people without a vote in Congress. When I was home on break in Indiana, I was talking to a lot of folks about it. A lot of people don’t know and they were surprised and shocked. So that’s a fundamental story that’s not being told.
