Get Schooled Initiative Launches - Aimed at Broadening Americans' Engagement in...

Get Schooled Initiative Launches - Aimed at Broadening Americans' Engagement
in Solving the Education Crisis
Initiative Releases Poll Revealing Vast Majority of Americans Do Not Believe
U.S. Education System is World's Best, Have Concerns Over Its Impact on the
Nation's Economy

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Viacom (NYSE: VIA and
VIA.B) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, along with initiative partners
AT&T, Capital One Financial Corporation and NYSE Euronext, today launched Get
Schooled with a national broadcast and an education conference at the
Paramount Pictures lot. The five-year initiative aims to generate greater
awareness and engagement in addressing the nation's education crisis and to
offer practical resources and support to students.

"We couldn't be having this conversation at a better time," said Bill Gates,
Co-chair of the Gates Foundation. "The education crisis is damaging our
ability to compete in the global economy, and we need to do more to engage all
Americans - from policymakers and corporate leaders to families and young
people - in our efforts to support students in completing their education and
achieving their dreams."

The Get Schooled initiative also announced today the results of a poll
conducted by The Winston Group showing that an overwhelming percentage of
Americans believe that the United States is lagging behind other nations when
it comes to the quality of education. Eighty-one percent of survey respondents
said that they do not believe that the United States has the best public
education system in the world. Eighty-nine percent believe that if American
students are not receiving as good of an education as their overseas
counterparts, it will have a negative effect on the American economy.

"We are committed to raising awareness and, even more importantly, to
converting that awareness into action," said Philippe Dauman, President and
CEO of Viacom. "Improving the workforce readiness of America's upcoming
generations is a business imperative. By 2020, our nation may be short 14
million college-educated workers, and the trends are moving against us. The
cost to the U.S. economy of students unprepared to enter college and the
workforce is estimated at close to $4 billion dollars annually in lost wages
and remedial education costs. But the long-term cost is exponentially
greater."

From 2006 to 2016 there will be more than two million new jobs created
requiring at least an associate degree or postsecondary training, according to
the New Democratic Leadership Council. However, the reality is that two-thirds
of American ninth graders will not be prepared for college within four years,
and half of those who actually go to college will never earn a degree.

"Investing in a well-educated workforce may be the single most important thing
we can do to help the U.S. remain a leader in the global economy," said
Charlene Lake, Senior Vice President for Public Affairs and Chief
Sustainability Officer for AT&T. "If we come together as business leaders,
policymakers, parents and as a community, we can ensure that today's students
have the skills and knowledge for meaningful careers, and that American
businesses have a deep and diverse talent pool from which to hire. AT&T is
proud to be a partner in Get Schooled."

As part of Get Schooled's mission to foster a national dialogue on education
issues, AT&T is organizing "screening parties" and discussions around the
premiere of the TV broadcast of Get Schooled: You Have the Right. Local
events, organized with community partners, will take place in 14 cities across
the nation.

"NYSE Euronext is proud to partner with all the sponsors of the Get Schooled
initiative. Improving America's education system is critically important to
the future of our children and our prosperity," said Duncan L. Niederauer, CEO
of NYSE Euronext. "To continue developing future generations of innovators and
investors, we must ensure that our young people are equipped with the
necessary skills to compete in the global marketplace and succeed in life. At
NYSE Euronext, we have a long-standing commitment to financial literacy, and
we are pleased to offer our expertise and brand behind this great initiative."

"At Capital One we recognize that one of the most important investments we can
make in the future is an investment in education," said Carolyn Berkowitz,
President of Capital One Foundation and Vice President for Community Affairs
at Capital One. "We are proud to support programs like Get Schooled to help
reinforce the importance of financial literacy. Our goal is to help give
students a solid foundation of money management knowledge and skills so that
they can make wise financial choices in the future."

The launch of Get Schooled, at the Paramount Pictures lot, includes a
conference featuring a line-up of distinguished speakers: Bill Gates, Philippe
Dauman, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education Tony Miller, filmmaker Davis
Guggenheim, author and political columnist Arianna Huffington, New York City
Department of Education Chancellor Joel Klein and Los Angeles-area High School
Athletic Director Stephen Minix. The education conference will be attended by
an audience of almost one thousand - including corporate and nonprofit
partners, students, thought leaders, celebrities and other education
stakeholders. Its goal is to highlight fresh perspectives on ways to
dramatically increase high school graduation rates and college completion
rates. The speakers will draw from their personal and professional
experiences, sharing insights on how to ensure that all students receive a
top-notch education and are ready to compete in a global marketplace.

The launch events on the Paramount Pictures lot also include the premiere of
the Get Schooled: You Have the Right documentary featuring President Barack
Obama, Kelly Clarkson and LeBron James, and three professionals who work
alongside them, which will air across all of Viacom's U.S. networks, including
BET, MTV, VH1, CMT, Comedy Central, Spike TV, TV Land and Nickelodeon, at 8
p.m. Eastern/Pacific and 7 p.m. Central.

EXCERPTS FROM PRESENTATIONS AT THE GET SCHOOLED CONFERENCE

PHILIPPE DAUMAN

"A third of American students drop out of high school. . . and fewer than 1 in
4 of those who remain are ready for college when they graduate. That means
that out of 100 kids entering high school, a mere 16 graduate ready for
college.

"That's bad news for American students, and it's bad news for the American
economy. Because, to put it plainly, a high school diploma is no longer a
ticket to the American dream. More than half of all new jobs will require at
least some college according to The Bureau of Labor Statistics. And the
median wage for workers with no college is now close to the poverty line for a
family of four. College is the new high school. And yet 8 out of 10 African
Americans and nearly 9 out of 10 Latinos do not earn a bachelors degree in the
U.S."

TONY MILLER

"The President has said repeatedly that the nation that out-teaches us today
will out-compete us tomorrow. We cannot allow that to happen. We won't allow
that to happen."

JOEL KLEIN

"For years, the conversation around public education has been that we as a
nation will never fix our schools until we fix poverty. That is so backwards.
So we have to change the conversation. The real truth is, we will never fix
poverty in America until we fix our schools. I know this, not just from my
work over the past seven years in New York City, but from my own life story."

"Our teachers have one of the most difficult and one of the most important
jobs in the world. We should support them, while also realizing that they are
not all equally effective. That's why we must insist upon real accountability
for our educators."

Davis Guggenheim

"I believe the public education system in America is in crisis, and we are
failing too many children. We as members of the media and the entertainment
industry have to do a better job of engaging people and connecting to what's
at stake: literally the lives of our children, and the soul of our country."

ARIANNA HUFFINGTON

"Maybe instead of calling for an exorcist any time the words "competition," or
"choice" are used in connection to education, we can start singing hosannas
for an idea that preserves what is truly public in public education - the
government, i.e. the public, paying for it - while allowing creativity and
innovation to flourish."

STEPHEN MINIX

"The kids at Locke are an inspiration to me. They are proof that the
resiliency of youth combined with the efforts of educators and the community
make for an unstoppable force. I challenge you as leaders in your professional
fields to continue this trend. What can you do to help right the ship? It is
imperative that we all put our efforts into improving the educational
experiences for our most needy kids. This will result in a more prepared and
educated future for our country."

ABOUT THE WINSTON GROUP POLL
The Winston Group survey of 1,000 voters nationwide probed Americans' views
about education. The telephone survey was conducted Aug. 23-27, 2009 and has a
margin of error of +/- 3.1%.

ABOUT GET SCHOOLED
Get Schooled is a national program that connects, inspires and mobilizes
people - from policymakers and corporate leaders to communities and kids - to
find effective solutions to the problems facing our education system. It
provides resources and information, community outreach and creative
programming that engage a range of audiences to address America's education
crisis. Get Schooled's co-developers are the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
and Viacom, including BET Networks, MTV Networks and Paramount Pictures. The
initiative combines the Foundation's deep knowledge of education reform with
the power of Viacom's diverse brands to raise awareness about the challenges
facing America's public education system and provide information and solutions
for students and their families.

To find out more about Get Schooled and the initiative's groundbreaking
national television premiere airing today, visit www.getschooled.com.

Media Contacts:

Brunswick Group
Maria Figueroa Kupcu Katie Foley
(212) 333-3810 (917) 257-4730
mkupcu@brunswickgroup.com kfoley@brunswickgroup.com

Viacom Paramount Pictures
Jeremy Zweig Patti Rockenwagner
(212) 846-7503 (323) 956-5011
jeremy.zweig@viacom.com patricia_rockenwagner@paramount.com

Gates Foundation
media@gatesfoundation.org

SOURCE Viacom Inc.

Maria Figueroa Kupcu, +1-212-333-3810, mkupcu@brunswickgroup.com, or Katie
Foley, +1-917-257-4730, kfoley@brunswickgroup.com, both of Brunswick Group; or
Jeremy Zweig of Viacom, +1-212-846-7503, jeremy.zweig@viacom.com; or Patti
Rockenwagner of Paramount Pictures, +1-323-956-5011,
patricia_rockenwagner@paramount.com; or Gates Foundation,
media@gatesfoundation.org