Panasonic Invites the Public to Cast Their Vote for This Year's Favorite 'Kid Witness News' Video

SECAUCUS, N.J., April 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Panasonic Corporation of North America, the market leader in Plasma HDTVs, today launched its first ever online vote and public showcase of the award winning videos submitted by students from across the country as part of its 17th annual Kid Witness News video education program's New Vision Awards. Highlights from each video will be available to view online where the public is invited to cast a vote for their favorite video. All of the award-winning videos, along with the online favorite, will be recognized at the annual Kid Witness News New Vision Awards ceremony honors on May 7 in Secaucus, New Jersey.

Each year thousands of students from more than 225 schools throughout the United States, in addition to Europe and Asia, participate in Panasonic's Kid Witness News (KWN) program. Each year participating schools are encouraged to submit their video creations to the New Vision awards in a range of categories including documentaries, public service announcements and works of fictions. Entries are reviewed by students from Columbia University's School of Film along with an independent panel of professional educators, broadcasters, industry leaders, scientists, journalists and entertainers who then select the 'best of the best' in each submission category.

"We are extremely proud of the Kid Witness News program and all of its participants," said Yoshi Yamada, Chairman and CEO of Panasonic Corporation of North America. "Many hours of hard work have gone into the production of these and all of the videos, and we are pleased to be able to share some of the best with the public."

Developed in 1989 as a hands-on video education program, KWN is designed to encourage students, many of whom live in under-served communities, to develop valuable cognitive, communication and organizational skills by immersing themselves in all aspects of video production. Panasonic provides each KWN participating school with a curriculum and suite of digital video equipment for teachers and students to utilize in the creation of original video projects.

The top finalists are brought to New Jersey to participate in a weekend of activities to celebrate their creative achievements, culminating with the New Vision Awards ceremony at which students will be honored for their creative video work and the KWN Video of the Year will be announced.

The public can visit http://www.panasonic.com/kwn beginning April 19 through May 6 to view and vote for their favorite entry as well as enter to win a 42" Panasonic Plasma HDTV*.

About Panasonic

Based in Secaucus, NJ, Panasonic Corporation of North America markets a broad line of digital and other electronics products for consumer, business and industrial use. The company is the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. of Japan, and the hub of Panasonic's U.S. branding, marketing, sales, service and R&D operations. Information about Panasonic and its products is available at http://www.panasonic.com/. Additional company information for journalists is available at http://www.panasonic.com/pressroom.

*See web site for official rules and details of the KWN sweepstakes.