Seventeen Magazine and ABC Family's Delete Digital Drama Initiative Goes to Washington D.C.

BURBANK, CA--(Marketwire - Sep 14, 2011) - Seventeen Magazine and ABC Family's Delete Digital Drama initiative, which launched this summer to bring awareness to the youth issue of digital abuse and bullying, is headed to Washington D.C. as part of the Second Annual Federal Partners In Bullying Prevention Summit from Wednesday, September 21-Thursday, September 22. The panel, Using Media Campaigns to Inspire Action around Bullying, will take place on the first day (Wednesday, September 21) of the 1½ day summit.

"This anti-bullying initiative is more important than ever because it gives teens power to stop the abuse. Instead of suffering through a barrage of hurtful emails and texts, all they have to do is hit delete," says Ann Shoket, Seventeen editor-in-chief. "We are thrilled to be able to take our campaign to the educators and legislators who can help amplify this important message."

"The response from our viewers about Delete Digital Drama has just been overwhelming," said Michael Riley, president, ABC Family. "We knew at the start that this was an issue that would galvanize our Millennial viewers and spur them individually into being a catalyst for change. We're just at the tip of what we can all do together to help put an end to bullying of all forms."

The Delete Digital Drama initiative was featured in Seventeen Magazine's August 2011 issue and continues to live on ABC Family both on-air and online at ABCFamily.com and Seventeen.com. As part of the campaign, ABC Family stars, including Katie Leclerc and Tyler Blackburn, shared personal stories about their own experiences with bullying. (The network also premiered the 2-hr original movie, "Cyberbully," starring Emily Osment as a young girl victimized by online abuse.)

Second Annual Federal Partners In Bullying Prevention Summit
Wednesday, September 21^st; 3:45-5:00PM ET:

Using Media Campaigns to Inspire Action around Bullying
Deleting Digital Drama: A Joint Campaign For Teens by Seventeen Magazine and ABC Family

• Ann Shoket, Editor-in-Chief, Seventeen
• Katie Leclerc, actress, "Switched at Birth"
• Tyler Blackburn, actor, "Pretty Little Liars" and Global Ambassador for Stomp Out Bullying
• Kelsey Upton, Seventeen reader
• Ross Ellis, founder of Stomp Out Bullying

Part of the Disney/ABC Television Group, ABC Family is distributed in over 98 million homes. ABC Family features programming reflecting today's families, entertaining and connecting with adults through relevant stories about today's relationships, all told with diversity, passion, humor and heart. ABC Family's programming is a mix of network defining original series and original movies, quality acquired series and blockbuster theatricals. ABC Family is also the destination for annual Holiday events with "13 Nights of Halloween" and "25 Days of Christmas." ABC Family. A New Kind of Family.

Seventeen (www.seventeen.com) is the best-selling monthly teen magazine, reaching more than 13 million readers every month. In each issue, Seventeen reports on the latest in fashion, beauty, health and entertainment, as well as information and advice on the complex real-life issues that young women face every day. Readers can interact with the brand on the digital front, with the Seventeen Ultimate Fashion Flipbook iphone app as well as with the monthly edition of the magazine on the iPad. In addition to its U.S. flagship, Seventeen publishes 13 editions around the world. Seventeen is published by Hearst Magazines, one of the nation's largest diversified communications companies. Once it completes its acquisition of Lagardère SCA's 100 titles in 14 countries outside of France, Hearst Magazines will publish more than 300 editions around the world, including 20 U.S. titles. Hearst Magazines is a leading publisher of monthly magazines in the U.S. in terms of total circulation and reaches 88 million adults (Spring 2010 MRI).

For more information and artwork on ABC Family, go to www.abcfamilymedianet.com