What is President Gore doing now?
"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former vice president Al Gore predicted on Friday his new Current TV cable channel, featuring news videos made by regular people, would more than double its reach to 50 million homes within five years.
Gore said at a news conference that he sees his Current TV channel as "a chance to democratize the medium of television" by blending new Internet technology with old-fashioned television.
Programs on Current TV, which launched on August 1 and is carried over DirectTV and a number of cable television systems, consist of short youth-oriented news programs of 15 minutes or less. At least one-quarter of them come from outside contributors and the rest are staff productions.
Using increasingly low-cost and ubiquitous tools like digital cameras and editing systems, contributors feed their home-grown news over the Internet to be used on the channel. Current TV staff then review the programs and choose the best ones to broadcast.
Gore said he hopes Current TV, which his company bought last year for $70 million, will reach 50 million American homes within five years. It now is in 20 million homes.
Gore's business partner, entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, said the group plans to make a profit "well before the five years is up." Gore said he considers Current TV a "for-profit" venture but conceded "there might be easier ways to make money."
In comments to a media conference earlier this week, Gore blasted big media for being an "oligopoly" that shuts out dissenting viewpoints and leaves democracy "at grave risk."
A recent New York Times article said Current TV has "lived up to its billing" by producing "a slick commercial cable network that gives its audience a voice in the programing."
Gore said that despite his recent criticism of big media, he can convince major distributors to carry his channel if he builds a strong audience.
"It's all about the programing," he said.
Two of the channel's young contributors, twenty-something journalists without much professional experience, told how they produced shows on Iran's underground party set and Cajun boaters who came to the rescue during Hurricane Katrina.
In promoting the new network, Gore is borrowing from past political campaigns, staging theatrical events such as a "Take Back TV" concert promotion in Central Park and going on the lecture and media event circuit, talking about his new venture and also about what's wrong with television.
Asked how his new career as a media mogul might affect his political options, Gore said, "I do not intend to ever be a candidate again."
But Gore, the former Tennessee senator who served two terms as vice president under President Bill Clinton, also hedged his bets by saying: "I have not reached the point where I can say it would be completely impossible that I would ever do that.""
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Gore said at a news conference that he sees his Current TV channel as "a chance to democratize the medium of television" by blending new Internet technology with old-fashioned television.
Programs on Current TV, which launched on August 1 and is carried over DirectTV and a number of cable television systems, consist of short youth-oriented news programs of 15 minutes or less. At least one-quarter of them come from outside contributors and the rest are staff productions.
Using increasingly low-cost and ubiquitous tools like digital cameras and editing systems, contributors feed their home-grown news over the Internet to be used on the channel. Current TV staff then review the programs and choose the best ones to broadcast.
Gore said he hopes Current TV, which his company bought last year for $70 million, will reach 50 million American homes within five years. It now is in 20 million homes.
Gore's business partner, entrepreneur Joel Hyatt, said the group plans to make a profit "well before the five years is up." Gore said he considers Current TV a "for-profit" venture but conceded "there might be easier ways to make money."
In comments to a media conference earlier this week, Gore blasted big media for being an "oligopoly" that shuts out dissenting viewpoints and leaves democracy "at grave risk."
A recent New York Times article said Current TV has "lived up to its billing" by producing "a slick commercial cable network that gives its audience a voice in the programing."
Gore said that despite his recent criticism of big media, he can convince major distributors to carry his channel if he builds a strong audience.
"It's all about the programing," he said.
Two of the channel's young contributors, twenty-something journalists without much professional experience, told how they produced shows on Iran's underground party set and Cajun boaters who came to the rescue during Hurricane Katrina.
In promoting the new network, Gore is borrowing from past political campaigns, staging theatrical events such as a "Take Back TV" concert promotion in Central Park and going on the lecture and media event circuit, talking about his new venture and also about what's wrong with television.
Asked how his new career as a media mogul might affect his political options, Gore said, "I do not intend to ever be a candidate again."
But Gore, the former Tennessee senator who served two terms as vice president under President Bill Clinton, also hedged his bets by saying: "I have not reached the point where I can say it would be completely impossible that I would ever do that.""
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posted by A. J. Franklin @ 21:33
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