"Current rejects the 30 minute viewing block, opting instead for much shorter content units called "pods." From "Current Courage" to "Current Blogger" these thematic shorts are generally 5-8 minutes long and introduce the viewer to one individual or concept. What all the pods have in common is that they seek to "reflect what is happening in the lives of young pople while highlighting voices and perspectives that aren''t always seen," explains Anastasia Goodstein, Manager of Viewer-Created Content at Current."
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UPDATE: Al Gore''s Oct. 5, 2005 speech on the future of American Democracy to a group of new-media practitioners gathered at The Associated Press headquarters in New York city: http://mediagiraffe.blogspot.com/2005/10/media-future-al-gore-on-tv-and-threat.html
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LINKS TO STORIES ABOUT THE LAUNCH OF "CURRENT"
http://www.wired.com/news/digiwood/0,1412,68379,00.html
http://www.thenation.com/doc/20050516/berman
http://blogcritics.org/archives/2005/08/01/030538.php
http://www.boston.com/ae/tv/articles/2005/08/01/gores_current_tv_hopes_to_spark_interest_in_young_viewers/
CURRENT OWNERSHIP:
From the Hollywood Reporter:
INdTV Holdings [which owns Current.TV and whose chairman is Gore] is financed by two separate equity capital firms -- Blum Capital of San Francisco and Yucaipa Cos. of Los Angeles -- as well as 20 individual investors both inside and outside the media business. They include former Time Warner president and chief operating officer Bob Pittman, former Warner Home Video president Warren Lieberfarb and "The West Wing" star Bradley Whitford, who has campaigned for Gore.
From the Current website:
our vision
Current is a new, independent cable and satellite TV network. Here''s what we''re up to:
There''s plenty to watch on TV, but as a viewer, you don''t have much chance to influence or contribute to what you see. This medium - the most powerful, riveting one we have - is still a narrow vision of reality rolled out in predictable 30-minute chunks. It''s still a fortress of an old-school, one-way world.
We want to bust it open.
We''re rethinking the way TV is produced, programmed, and presented, so it actually makes sense to an audience that''s accustomed to choice, control, and collaboration in everything else they do.
So, we''re creating a network in short form. Whenever you tune in to Current, you''ll see something amusing, inspiring or interesting. And then, three minutes later, you''ll see something new. It''ll be a video iPod stocked with a stream of short segments and set to shuffle.
We aim to connect to every facet of real life, so the rotation will include Current Soul, Current Gigs, Current Fashion, Current Lies, Current Tech, and lots more.
These segments will be anchored each hour by the Google Current: an up-to-the-second zeitgeist, a glimpse into what people around the world are searching for and talking about right now.
Finally, there''s the Current Studio: our participatory production program, anchored online and open to anyone. The Studio is a cornerstone of this network, and your opportunity to produce, program, and get the word out about our network. If you jump in and get creative, you will see the results on TV.
Current launches later this year, but the Current Studio is in need of your help today. We want to start building a pipeline of your productions and getting a sense of what you want to see on-air well before launch.
We''re going to work with you to take a look at what''s going on in the world from a fresh perspective: yours. We are excited to begin. We think the process - and your participation - is as important as the final product.
See also: Opinion: "Al Gore''s TV revolution", A St. Petersburg Times Editorial
Our profile of Current TV web team member, Robin Sloan
COMMENTARY ON CURRENT:
Linkname: City Pages - Kids Demand More Gore on Television
URL: http://www.citypages.com/databank/26/1290/article13623.asp