My wife used to be in the habit of watching News World International every morning. NWI is now off the air, replaced by Al Gore’s “hip” Current TV. Well, my wife and I aren’t very hip, but we have gotten sucked in by Current TV. And it appeals to our 10-year old daughter. The format is slick, but some of the segments, called “Pods,” are quite good. They talked about the irony of making Bolton UN Ambassador, they talk about police brutality against anti-globalization protesters and they discuss the need for better sex ed if we want to stop the spread of AIDS. If Al Gore is avoiding progressive politics, he is certainly going for progressive CULTURE on Current TV. But there is a problem and, you know what, we can and SHOULD solve that problem.
As pointed out in the Salon.com review of Current TV, the Pods are good but there aren’t enough of them. They seem to have enough for about 2 hours of programming which they keep looping through. They need more programming and that programming can come from us progressives! They solicit new Pods from viewers and you can get paid for it if they select your Pod.
We talk about the need to retake the media, right? Well, this is it, folks! This is a media station that WANTS us to send them our video footage of WHATEVER we think is intersting. Why aren’t we taking immediate advantage of this? If we want to influence the media, any one of us with a video camera and some skill at filming and some creative idea(s) should be making Pods for Current TV and sending them in.
The progressive bloggers are a creative, interestng bunch. Why shouldn’t we be able to participate in Al Gore’s cultural experiment? Get out your video cameras if you have them. Think about something you are most interested in (doesn’t have to be political, of course). Film a 10 min segment on it and send it in! To quote Dean, YOU HAVE THE POWER. Current TV is giving you the outlet for that power. Let’s not let this opportunity pass us by. This may be the best opportunity we have to influence media and even youth culture.
