TNT Goes Out on a Limb with Sponsorship of The Moth, 10-City National Storytelling Tour and Storytelling Competition via MySpace

Margaret Cho Among Guest Artists to Appear During Storytelling Tour

TNT, television�s premier destination for dramatic storytelling, is continuing for a second year its sponsorship of the urban storytelling outfit The Moth. This year, the network�s support of the group includes a 10-city storytelling tour entitled Out on a Limb: Stories from the Edge, which kicks off in Los Angeles Oct. 12 with a performance to include comedian Margaret Cho and rap pioneer Darryl �DMC� McDaniels. In addition, TNT and The Moth are teaming up for a �What�s Your Story?� online search for new, compelling storytellers. The contest will be conducted on MySpace, the leading social networking and lifestyle portal, and the winner will receive a trip for two to New York to attend a live Moth event.

The Out on a Limb storytelling tour will be hosted by The Moth�s frequent New York contributors Jonathan Ames, author of Wake Up, Sir! and What's Not to Love?, and Andy Borowitz, author of The Borowitz Report and writer for The New Yorker and Newsweek. It will feature storytellers from New York alongside local guest performers, including Cho and McDaniels appearing at the tour launch in Los Angeles. The Los Angeles event will be held at UCLA Live/Royce Hall.

Since The Moth�s inception in 1997, more than 60,000 people have listened to more than 2,000 stories told by people from all walks of like � from Rosie O�Donnell, Ethan Hawke and Dominick Dunne to a firefighter and a hot dog eating champion. All of its 265 original storytelling events have sold out in 48 hours or less.

�At TNT, we pride ourselves on telling dramatic stories in unique ways, which makes our association with The Moth a truly ideal partnership,� said Jennifer Dorian, senior vice president, branding and network strategy for TNT and TBS. �We look forward to our continued work with The Moth through this 10-city tour and to seeing what kind of extraordinary stories and storytellers turn up in the exciting online competition.�

�I think storytelling has struck a nerve with audiences because it offers such a complete break from our everyday lives of text-messages and cell phones and all the bells and whistles,� said Lea Thau, executive and creative director of The Moth. �Audiences are hungry for more meaningful connections, and there is nothing more raw, primal and universal than a really good story. We�re thrilled to be able to give more people across the country the opportunity to share in this very special experience.�

On Oct. 15, the Out on a Limb tour will land in Seattle for a performance at Town Hall Seattle that will feature Dan Savage, author of the nationally syndicated column Savage Love. On Oct. 19, it�s off to the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco for an event to feature authors Adam Gopnik (Paris to the Moon, Through the Children�s Gate) and Joyce Maynard (To Die For, Internal Combustion). Then on Oct. 22, the tour will come to Denver, where historian Patty Limerick and author-photographer John Fielder will join in the storytelling. Moth storytellers from New York featured on the tour include Cindy Chupack, Steve Osborne, OT Powell, Michaela Murphy and Edgar Oliver.

The Out on a Limb tour will take a break following the Denver event, returning in February 2007 for performances in Miami (as the opening-night attraction for the prestigious South Beach Festival of the Arts), Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Beginning Monday, Oct. 10, folks from around the country will have an opportunity to tell their own stories as part of the �What�s Your Story?� online competition. Storytellers can submit their personal, true video stories about risk-taking or being �out on a limb.� Stories will be evaluated by representatives of The Moth, with the best tales uploaded to The Moth�s MySpace profile (http://www.myspace.com/mothstories). For two weeks, MySpace visitors will be able to view the posted stories and vote on their favorite. The winner of the online competition will receive a trip for two to New York to attend a live Moth event.

The Moth was founded in 1997 by poet and novelist George Dawes Green, who wanted to re-create the feeling of community from his youth in Georgia when moths would be drawn to the porch light as he and his friends told stories. The first Moth events began in his New York City living room and quickly spread to larger venues throughout Manhattan. Today, The Moth�s work includes bi-weekly Moth StorySLAMS and a storytelling outreach program for youth groups and adults in rehabilitation programs.

Turner Network Television (TNT), a division of Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., is television�s destination for drama and one of cable�s top-rated networks. It offers original movies and series, including the blockbuster detective series The Closer, starring Emmy�, Golden Globe� and Screen Actors Guild Awards� nominee Kyra Sedgwick, and next year�s eagerly anticipated television event The Company, executive-produced by Ridley Scott and starring Chris O�Donnell, Michael Keaton and Alfred Molina. TNT is also home to powerful one-hour dramas, such as Without a Trace, Law & Order, Las Vegas, Cold Case, ER, Charmed and Judging Amy; broadcast premiere movies; compelling prime-time specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards�; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is also available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, is a major producer of news and entertainment product around the world and a leading provider of programming for the television industry.