http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/1/4/131646.shtmlAl Gore Wants 'F*#@ed Up' TV
Al Gore almost had his dream of a left-wing news channel blocked by none other than media giant Barry Diller – who had reportedly refused to lift his veto over the sale of the News World International cable network from Vivendi Universal Entertainment back in 2003.
But Gore and his partner Joel Hyatt, the Legal Services mogul, eventually got what they wanted for the bargain price of $70 million, and are now looking to bowl over the teen-to-mid-thirties age demographic with their new channel INdTV.
So, what kind of programming is the former veep looking to feature? That's still up in the air, but if the new buzz going around is correct, the programs won't much resemble a cable news channel.
In fact, like MTV, Comedy Central and others, Gore's INdTV network will play to the some of society's worst elements, according to a report in the Washington Post.
One of the programs being considered is a show called "That's F*-#ed Up," which will essentially feature rants from Joe and Jane America about stuff that just, well, isn't right. That's providing, of course, the rants make for "good TV," say the network's executives in an e-mail to prospective "digital correspondents.".
What else is on tap? How about comments about serious topics from such notables as Paris Hilton, the underground video porn star and heiress to the massive Hilton hotel fortune? Or just the opposite — directing a light-hearted question at a serious public figure?
Or this, according to the exec e-mail: "All-Nighter: What goes on in your town between 2 and 5 a.m.? We're looking for truly unique (sic) stuff, anywhere from the local late-night diner to the woods down by the creek."
Or how about a show called "Addicted," which features in-depth reporting about a "favorite addiction," such as food fetishes, a relationship or other uncontrollable habit?
If any of these sound like nothing will be out of bounds, you'd be wrong. The execs warned they didn't want any "X-rated material." Standards, at last.
While noting the ideas represent more brainstorming than anything else, from the looks of the initial diet of programming it doesn't appear as though INdTV will replace Fox News or CNN anytime soon as the "go-to" network for serious reporting and breaking news coverage.
Based in San Francisco, the channel is likely to launch this year and, in case you couldn't tell, is attempting to "wow the youth market," the Post says.
Well, that's one way of putting it. But if the goal is to eventually convince Generation X and Y to take the news, national and world events more seriously, we're predicting GoreTV will be to news broadcasting what Air America is to the talk radio industry.
With this venture, could Gore's political afterlife be as comically unsuccessful as his presidential bid and subsequent endorsement flops?