CNN, YouTube Team Up to Host First-Ever Voter-Generated Presidential Debates

Public to Submit Video Questions for Candidates for July 23 Democratic Debate, Sept. 17 Republican Debate

CNN, the most trusted news source, and YouTube, the leading online video community that allows people to discover, watch and share originally created videos, today announced plans to bring two unprecedented presidential debates to the American public. For the first time in presidential debate history, the live forum will feature video questions submitted to YouTube which will be broadcast and answered by the candidates on CNN. CNN’s Anderson Cooper will moderate the two-hour debates and pose follow-up questions.

The Democratic debate, the first Democratic National Committee-sanctioned presidential forum of the 2008 election cycle, will be held at the Citadel in Charleston, S.C., on Monday, July 23, from 7 to 9 p.m. (ET) and will air live on CNN. The Republican presidential forum hosted by CNN and YouTube will take place on Monday, Sept 17, from 7 to 9 p.m. (ET) in Florida.

Starting today, YouTube users will be able to submit their questions at www.youtube.com/debates.