(Vivian Vahlberg) -- Have you seen (or even created) a website you think might make young people interested in learning about and following all or some part of the 2008 election? Media Management Center would like to hear about it for new research we're doing this spring on ways to engage teens in serious news online.

In focus groups and personal interviews in April, we will be testing promising sites and interesting site features with young people (17-21) who are eligible to vote for the first time in 2008. The purpose of the study, which will be released in July, is to identify techniques and strategies news organizations can use online to deepen teens' interest in becoming informed about serious news.

This research is a sequel to our report, "If It Catches My Eye: An Exploration of Online News Experiences of Teenagers," which we released earlier this year. The research is jointly funded by MMC and the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation in Oklahoma City.

So if there's a site or a site feature that you think should engage young people in news of the election, just send the URL for the site to me at v-vahlberg@northwestern.edu. We are looking to identify and test a variety of sites and site features (about local, state and national races, and about particular issues) from a variety of sources (from news organizations to individuals to non-profits to candidate sites).

We will be glad to send the study results to everyone who contributes suggestions.

Vivian E. Vahlberg, Managing Director
Media Management Center, Northwestern University
1845 Sheridan Road, Room 301
Evanston, IL 60208-2110
v-vahlberg@northwestern.edu
847-467-1790