UPDATE: Here’s the official announcement about the “Hope For Haiti” global telethon presented by MTV Networks to be broadcast January 22nd on ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1, and CMT, as well as social networked on Facebook and MySpace. It was first organized by George Clooney who will co-produce and host from Los Angeles. Just as George Clooney was in the process of putting the telethon together, he also fundraised. Now, Not On Our Watch, the international advocacy and grantmaking organization founded by actors George Clooney, Don Cheadle, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, producer Jerry Weintraub, and human rights lawyer David Pressman, has directed $1 million (USD) in emergency response funds to provide medical services for victims of the disaster. The beneficiary of the grant is Partners In Health (PIH), presently directing relief efforts and emergency medical care for the wounded.

NEW YORK, NY and LOS ANGELES, CA (January 15, 2009) – In response to the devastating earthquake in Haiti, MTV Networks is presenting “Hope for Haiti,” a global telethon to air commercial‐free across ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CNN, BET, The CW, HBO, MTV, VH1 and CMT on Friday, January 22, 2010 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT and 7:00 p.m. CT. “Hope for Haiti” will also be made available to MTV Networks International, CNN International and National Geographic channels worldwide.

Leading the charge for “Hope for Haiti” will be George Clooney in Los Angeles, Wyclef Jean in New York City and CNN’s Anderson Cooper from Haiti. The two‐hour telethon will be broadcast from New York City and Los Angeles, and will feature musical performances and celebrity appearances to be announced prior to the event, as well as live news reports from CNN. “Hope for Haiti” will be produced by Joel Gallen, Tenth Planet Productions, in collaboration with MTV Networks and George Clooney.

All proceeds will be split evenly among five relief organizations currently operating in Haiti: Oxfam America, Partners in Health, the Red Cross, UNICEF and Yele Haiti Foundation. Facebook and MySpace have also signed on as official social media partners to help drive donations and tune‐in to the telethon.