Gore TV for Digital Generation

August 2, 2005

Dear Generation-Xers and�Gen-Yers,

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If TV sucks, do something about it.

That’s what 57-year-old former Vice President Al Gore’s new youth-oriented cable TV network is saying.

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Launched yesterday, Current TV is aimed at Internet-savvy viewers between ages 18 and 34. The short, fast-paced programs are being referred to as “pods” (a namesake more than borrowed from Apple Computer’s digital music players), with about 25 percent of the programming pods consisting of homemade pieces,�i.e., viewer contributed content and referred to as VC Squared -- that's clever.

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An on-air host yesterday told viewers: “If you ever thought, ‘TV really sucks ... or I could make a better show than that,’ then you came to the right place.”

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Initial contributions included stories about thrill-seekers who leap off cliffs with parachutes and the role that sex and drugs plays in the private lives of Iranians. The network also featured segments on fashion, dating, travel, entertainment and news, anchored every half hour with a short spot highlighting trends gleaned from leading Web searches conducted on Google’s Internet portal.

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Gore said Current is “inviting this new generation empowered by digital tools — of small and good cameras and laptop editing systems — to actually make television.

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“This generation wants to be in control of its media,” Gore said. “They want personalized media.”

Interestingly, Current regulates how often it repeats individual pieces on the air according to audience feedback, as registered on the network’s Web site, which presumably means ... among other things ... no more damn reruns of Everybody Loves Raymond! YES!�

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Some back story.�

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DRB