Nadir’s MTV Street Team ‘08 Election Coverage
Nadir covered the 2008 elections as Michigan correspondent for MTV’s Emmy Award-winning Choose or Lose/Street Team ‘08. MTV hired a group of 51 young citizen journalists to report on the election from the viewpoint of young people in their states. The Street Team submitted weekly video, audio and multimedia stories about the campaign.
Nadir received special recognition from the project’s producers for his coverage of under reported stories. He was also one of the few reporters selected to cover the Republican National Convention in Minneapolis/St. Paul. MTV’s Street Team ‘08 was awarded an Emmy Award for their ground breaking work.
CHECK OUT SOME OF NADIR’s REPORTS
VIDEO: MI 2008 – Looking Back, Looking Forward
Michigan in 2008. There were complex challenges and dramatic stories everywhere, from the “Uncommitted” Democratic primary to the landslide in November.
While covering the state for MTV’s Emmy-winning Choose or Lose Street Team ‘08, I came to appreciate the soul and grit of Michigan’s people in new ways. Here’s a look back at my attempt to record history in the making.
VIDEO: Can They Stop Me From Voting?
Efforts to challenge and suppress voters increase in close elections. Do you know your rights? Do you know what to do if someone challenges you when you go to vote?
MTV Street Teamer Nadir spoke with Professor Griff & Chuck D of Public Enemy and some noted Michigan journalists who kicked the facts about your rights as a voter.
VIDEO: Young, American and Arab
Since 9-11 anti-Arab and anti-Muslim discrimination is on the rise. In an act that was contrary to his message of change, campaign volunteers for Barack Obama refused to allow two Muslim American women to sit behind the candidate during a June rally at Detroit’s Joe Louis Arena.
Michigan is home to the largest population of Arabs outside the Middle East. Several young Arab Americans spoke with Nadir about this incident and the tensions they endure every day.
AUDIO: Another Seat at the Table
The Green Party’s presidential and vice-presidential nominees Cynthia McKinney and Rosa Clemente are the first presidential ticket led by two women of color. But this is no symbolic or token campaign by a minor party. Nadir interviewed McKinney and Clemente about their own historic run for the White House.
VIDEO: McCain’s Straight Talk Economics
John McCain had to pick up his game on the Economy. It was tough enough that the Republican nominee was saddled with the failures of “Bushonomics”. McCain had also been forced to distance himself from one of his own advisers, a man who said Americans were “whining” about the economy. But at a town hall meeting with small business owners in Belleville, Michigan, the Straight Talk Maverick was up for the challenge, telling voters he had a plan to “fix” the economy.
VIDEO: The Case of the DPS IMac Dump
With a 25% graduation rate and a severe budget deficit, the last thing we should expect to find in our city dumpster is seven working computers with Property of Detroit Public Schools labels on them, but…
VIDEO: The Silenced Strike – American Axle Strike Injures U.S. Economy
UAW workers began a 3-month strike at American Axle plants in Michigan and New York on February 25, 2008. The work stoppage forced General Motors to stop or slow production at 30 North American factories, and an estimated 40,000 people were laid off.
NADIR REPORTS FROM THE 2008 REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION IN MINNEAPOLIS/ST PAUL
VIDEO: Day 1 – Anarchy, Nadir Tear-Gassed at RNC
Cue the instrumental to Snoop Dogg’s “Gin & Juice”:
There’s so much drama in the GOP
I’m kinda glad that I’m coverin’ the RNC
We didn’t know at first. When John McCain made the decision to limit activity at the 2008 Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota because of the threat Hurricane Gustav posed to the Gulf Coast, some of us in the MTV Street Team’s RNC contingent were worried that there wouldn’t be much to cover. But a few hours later, I was coughing, hacking and wheezing because of the tear gas in my face…
VIDEO: Day 2 – Rage & Liberty in Minnesota
For me, day two of the Republican National Convention was all about the very different ways Americans express their anger and dissatisfaction with the United States government, and the Republican Party in particular.
VIDEO: Day 3 – Whose World Is This?
Dude! I was SOOO tired of protests by Day Three of the RNC that I was determined to do some safer stories. But my first story of the day was a protest right outside my hotel, and by the end of the night, I was being pushed by a police baton as I walked away from another confrontation after the Rage Against the Machine Concert.
VIDEO: Day 4 – Political Theater Unmasked
It pays to have a backstage pass. That’s one thing I learned at the Republican National Convention. All of the speeches and videos and pageantry on television amount to what independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader called “political theater”. The real action at the RNC was happening backstage.
VIDEO: Wrap Up – The ‘Other’ RNC: 4 Days of Protest
Members and delegates of the Republican Party weren’t the only visitors to the Twin Cities during the GOP Convention. There were also lots of protesters and LOTS of police…
