Al Gore's TV revolution

[HootieMcBoob]

It won't be long before Al Gore's new television station "Current" is up and running. I'm very curious to see what it's all about. Here's a short piece on it from the St. Petersburg Times:

It isn't often that a politician who has come within a Supreme Court decision of the White House can thoroughly reinvent himself. But with his new youth-oriented, populist TV news and information channel, dubbed Current TV, former Vice President Al Gore has made an ambitious start.

Scheduled to debut Monday, Current's format seems impossibly simple. Reasoning that its age-18-to-34 target audience already is living in a high-velocity, on-demand media universe, Gore's channel will offer bite-sized video packages no more than seven to 10 minutes long, allow viewers to submit pieces of their own and vote on their favorite amateur video online.

One of the channel's slogans makes the ambitious pledge to turn TV into a two-way conversation. And Gore, facing the public without a tie or any willingness to talk politics, has emerged as the unlikeliest of faces for a channel trying to make the video musings of unknown twentysomethings not only hip, but revolutionary.

Gore has morphed from a political punch line to the man aiming to end TV As We Know It. Not a bad perch for a guy seeking the kind of sweeping change as a media executive he never achieved as a politician.

http://www.sptimes.com/2005/07/27/Opinion/Al_Gore_s_TV_revoluti.shtml

[montanacowboy]

1. From what I know so far, it SUCKS

The only channel we can count on for independent news is News World International - they carried the CBC, excellent news and documentaries; that is no more now

I have a bad feeling about this

[HootieMcBoob]

2. I'm going to miss News World International too

But there's also some good news on the "news" front. Are you familiar with Independent World Television? http://www.iwtnews.com/

[montanacowboy]

3. No, sorry to say

[HootieMcBoob]

4. Check out the video

and have a look at who is involved in IWT.

And just as an aside I noticed that DU is mentioned on the IWT website! Here's what they said:

International press coverage.
We weren’t seeking much media attention early on –- we planned for a “soft” launch that would allow us to work any kinks out of the site before it got too busy. Nevertheless, in our first few weeks IWT received outstanding coverage on Air America and CBC Radio, in major newspapers like The Guardian, Toronto’s Globe and Mail, the Toronto Star, Montreal’s La Presse, the MIT Technology Review and China’s LifeWeek Magazine. Our Los Angeles “Birth of a Network” video screening and party was covered by Variety and the Hollywood Reporter. And we generated significant buzz online and in the blogosphere, receiving great attention on Daily Kos, BuzzFlash, MetaFilter, and Democratic Underground -– with articles and posts about us appearing on over 1,000 other blogs and web sites worldwide, from Italy to Argentina.

[NinetySix]

10. Sorry to say it, but...

I'M still gonna get CBC Newsworld. Even though your cable company is going to show Current in place of CBCNI, it might behoove you to call up and demand the real thing: CBC Newsworld. Enough people around the country called up to dedmand the BBC that many outlets began to carry it. Make your voice heard and get CBCN along with Current. It really is worth it.

[Fluffdaddy]

5. D@mn give the channel a chance. It's not even on the air yet on you are

Bashing it 100% unseen. Keep a open mind why don't you.

[zeal]

6. hey now...

shouldn't we be supporting this as an alternative to fake (fox) news?

[HootieMcBoob]

7. It's not really a news channel

From what I understand it will be short pieces all produced by regular folk on a variety of subjects.

[bigendian]

8. Kinda like the internets, no?

:kick:

[rocktivity]

9. I've been hoping against hope that Al has something up his sleeve

Maybe, like Bush, he's been running as a moderate but is prepared to make a "sharp turn"...

:headbang:
rocknation