Nightline tonite: Koppel talks to Springsteen about tour for Kerry!!!

[gauguin57]

Here's Nightline's daily email, about tonight's show. Should be a goodie!

Nightline Daily E-Mail
August 4, 2004

TONIGHT'S FOCUS: Can celebrities and artists influence an election? This year, quite a few are going to try. Tonight, Ted Koppel talks to Bruce Springsteen, who along with a high-wattage group of other artists, is going to do a series of concerts in key 'swing states.' Can this really change the way people vote? Or does it further divide an already divided nation?

Despite last week's Democratic Convention, polls show a near dead heat in this year's presidential election. Both campaigns, and their respective supporters, are looking for any way to influence the small margin of voters it will take to win the election.

Supporters include those in the entertainment industry. For President Bush, there is the conservative talk-show radio circuit, certainly a form of entertainment, and some country music stars who lend their support. But most of the celebrities who are weighing into the political fray are Kerry supporters. Take Michael Moore and his film "Fahrenheit 9/11" - the most political mainstream film in recent memory. Even despite its huge ticket sales, especially for a documentary, surveys show that most viewers are already Kerry supporters. So, will the film really influence the election?

Now comes a series of concerts by artists like Pearl Jam, the Dave Matthews Band, the Dixie Chicks and Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band, among others. Just this morning, the group announced that it will play concerts this fall in several key states where polls show the voters deadlocked -- where the election could hang in the balance. The left-leaning "Moveon.Org" sponsors the group - and though it has not, so far, said outright that the concerts are meant to be pro-Kerry, it does not take much reading between the lines to see its goal.

Certainly celebrities and artists have voiced their political opinions before. Remember Jane Fonda on the Vietnam War? And the musicians of the Woodstock generation often spoke and wrote about the war and surrounding political issues. But did any of this really change an election? Is this year any different?

Tonight Michel Martin reports on the intersection of politics and popular culture. She interviews musicians Martie Maguire of the Dixie Chicks, Mike Mills of REM, Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, writers Kurt Anderson and Robert George, and music executives Russell Simmons and Danny Goldberg.

And finally, Ted Koppel sits down with Bruce Springsteen to talk about it all. Springsteen has an enormous and loyal fan base - but how political can he be without alienating a portion? And do artists simply preach to the choir when they write and talk about politics - or can they have an impact?

We hope you'll join us.

Sara Just and the Nightline Staff
Nightline Offices
ABC News Washington Bureau

[MidwestTransplant]

1. Anybody know if there are massive voter registration drives going on

at these events?

[gauguin57]

2. I think the concerts don't start till October.

So, the voter registration deadline will probably have passed for many if not all states.

[stellanoir]

4. Franken just interviewed Mike Mills in the 2nd hour

of his show. Mills said that ACT would be conducting voter registrations at each and every concert !

[gauguin57]

3. Actually, there might be a day or two where they COULD register

folks to vote.

Here's the Web site about the Oct. 1-10 concerts

http://actforvictory.org/vote_for_change/index.php

Here's the pdf file listing the concert dates and locations.

http://actforvictory.org/vote_for_change/index.php