New Al Gore TV Hopes to Avoid 'Liberal' Label

[Snellius]

NEW YORK (AdAge.com) -- Former vice president Al Gore and a group of investors have plans to launch an all-news channel, but it won't be a liberal alternative to Fox News. Instead, it will be aimed at the under-25 crowd.

"Liberal TV is dead on arrival," said an insider advising Mr. Gore and his team. "You just can't do it."
...
The proposed news network will be positioned as "a professional news operation reaching an aware, younger, hipper audience," the adviser said, characterizing it as a combination of CNN and MTV. "The station will try to reach a younger market."
...
Some observers feel that despite the change in tack, a network led by Mr. Gore will not be able to erect a firewall thick enough to insulate it from his Democratic Party affiliation.

"If there is any transparency to Gore, then it will be identified as a partisan operation, which will alienate advertisers," said the sales executive.

"The problem with being associated as liberal is that they wouldn't be going in a direction that advertisers are really interested in," said Paul Rittenberg, senior VP-advertising and market research, Fox News. "We don't get business for being conservative, we get business because the ratings are good and we believe that we're fair. If you go out and say that you are a liberal network, you are cutting your potential audience and certainly your potential advertising pool, right off the bat. "

http://www.adage.com/news.cms?newsId=38939

[zbdent]

1. About the only way they'll be able to avoid being called liberal

(at least by the "liberal media") will be to show a live kangaroo court condemnation of Bill and Hillary Clinton, hosted by Rush Limbaugh.

Even then, they would be ridiculed as "too soft on the Clintons".

[Darth_Kitten]

4. if americans aren't very liberal....

then how come right wing advertisers and the right wing media are SO afraid of them? :)

[Darth_Kitten]

2. oh, right.

young people are pretty progressive, witless advertisers. :eyes:

[Bandit]

3. Here is a chilling sentence.

"The problem with being associated as liberal is that they wouldn't be going in a direction that advertisers are really interested in,"

What exactly does this sentence tell us?

[benfranklin1776]

10. It tells me the opposition is once more attempting to silence us.

The quote was from Paul Rittenberg, "senior VP-advertising and market research, Fox News. "
Hardly a fair and balanced source.
We'll see when it comes to programming. Advertisers know one thing, they want ratings. On MSNBC the highest rated talk show was Phil Donahue so so-called "liberal programming" has a nice tidy market share and there is a definite niche to fill. So the Gore folks would be most foolish to cut themselves off from a future high growth area. There is a demand aching to be filled.

[Stupdworld]

5. isn't this supposed to be an alternative to fox?

i mean i thought this was supposed to be an all-liberal station? with franken, et al. or is that the radio network project?

[robbedvoter]

6. Oh, goody! Slimy lieberals shouldn't have media!

What a victory for assholes everywhere! Don't you love it when winners act like losers? :argh:

[Autumn]

7. yes!!!!

Like anyone with half a brain cares about what rittenberg has to say . It's about time.

[Khephra]

8. If people would stop being afraid of the freeping word "liberal"

Then maybe it wouldn't be "dead in the water".

Sounds like Gore is picking bad advisors again.

[Homer12]

9. He just addmitted that Fox is Conservative.

...said Paul Rittenberg, senior VP-advertising and market research, Fox News. "We don't get business for being conservative, we get business because the ratings are good and we believe that we're fair. If you go out and say that you are a liberal network, you are cutting your potential audience and certainly your potential advertising pool, right off the bat. "

Let me pick apart this Guy.

- So Fox is Conservativly Biased

- They beleive they are fair so they can do business

This is what he means, ONly conservativly Biased Media is fair, while liberal biased Media beleives it is not so can't be fair and con't get advertiseing dollars.

What a hypocrite, it's a cruvlier argument that can work both ways.

[Philosophy]

11. "Balanced and Fair"

That can be their motto. People will figure it out.

[M_Demo_M]

14. Precisely,

To be 'viable' to advertisers you have to be (wink, wink) 'balanced'
in your coverage (like Fox news).

But people will figure out if there's a slant. At least people
who pay attention.

[KoKo]

12. Just what I was waiting for: MTV for Progressives. Sheesh! Forget it!

That was my last ray of hope for something to counter the RW Cables. We get "kiddie TV" so the little consumers can spend more of the national debt by asking mommy and daddy to buy them a BMW SUV for their 16th.

I know that young people are important, but under 25? When the rest of us are crying out for a voice? And, we all know that folks under 25 don't really make up a huge portion of the vote.....like DUH!

I'm so disappointed.....:-(

[VolcanoJen]

13. Dupe... locking

The other thread beat you by two minutes, Snellius. Sorry!

:-)

Please continue discussion here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=164242

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator