Author: Rob Laurent

Over at UpstartTV We are working to create independent, TV-style programming and we want out first shows to concentrate on Senate races in CT and OH.  Aside from the fact that those races will be great to watch, we have chosen to focus on campaign shows first because these shows can make a real impact.  

Think of it as DeanTV, except instead of being run by a campaign and focusing on a single candidate it will be run by an independent group (us) and will focus on the whole campaign.  We will show ALL the candidates speaking and having those priceless little personal off-the-cuff interactions that make you fall in love, instead of just one (did anyone else actual watch DeanTV?).  But our shows will be more then that.  They will be the story of our people in the field, our community, and the campaigns across the country embracing, adapting to, or rejecting citizens media.  Our shows will show the campaigns like they really are, like it or not.
Just wanted to let my favorite scoop blogs know what’s up.  Crossposted at dKos, MyDDand Mydd

That felt good to get out.  Now onto some useful details.  We are looking for someone in Ohio and Connecticut to follow the campaigns around, make friends, ask questions, produce a 10 to 15 minute show each week (along with any other interesting/useful footage), and keep an active blog on our site.  The blog will be the place where the community can discus, make suggestions, and pass along questions to ask the candidates.  We are very open about the format of these shows, and the blog will be the place to work out the details and problems and find the right balance for this medium.  As for the video, it has to be good quality, and the show needs to be recognizable as show and not some random video.  And when we talk about independent, we mean it like independent film, top quality stuff with a budget, and not independent like public access TV.  We’ve got a business plan that will produce the budget if you can cover the top quality part.  

To make this kind of commitment reasonable, we will be guaranteeing a small stipend for expenses, and will be sending 75% of the ad revenue from the show directly to its creator.  We are marketing a 15-30 second commercial before each show, which will produce between $10 and $20 per thousand views for the contributor.  So the right people can make these shows very successful.  We picked CT and OH to launch the project with because they are shaping up to be two of the most exciting races in the country  and because we hope to expand this project to other states/races, we will need the example set by these first shows.  After that, and with the profits produced by these and other large market shows, we will be able to expand to cover more Senate, and hopefully House races, and create an honest alternative to the standard campaign coverage.

A lot will happen between now and the 2006 elections.  We want to be there, on the ground, to document it and ask the real questions.  I believe this is the next step, one way or another, and I encourage anyone interested in creating a show, campaign or otherwise, to get in contact with me at rob@upstarttv.com, and everyone else to comment below or at our site.  Thanks in advance for your time and your thought.  There’s no contribution like brain power.    

(Cross-posted at Dailykos, MyDD, My Left Wing and Political Cortex)

I just wanted to let everyone know about UpstartTV, our new scoop powered web community.  Our goal is to use the democratic nature of scoop to give independent writers, actors, and producers the same opportunity to thrive that sites like Dailykos, MyDD and Booman Tribune have given to bloggers.

Instead of creating a “liberal” TV network, we believe that the way to combat the problems with the mainstream video media is to create high-quality, competitive video online.  This will keep the overhead low and allow decisions to be made democratically by the community at large.  And without the restrictions of having to work though a traditional TV network, we can create shows that cater to smaller, more dedicated audiences.  

Soon enough people will have so many ways to find and view video other than cable that we will be able to compete on an even(or close to) digital playing field with anything else out there.  

We also have a financial plan that will allow popular contributors to make a living off their work.  We want our content to be as good as it can be.  We want it to compete with the best TV has to offer, and we will work with our contributors to make that happen.

Please come and check out the site.  We are still working out some  bugs and some layout issues, and we are in an idea sharing pre-video phase, but any help or feedback from people, especially members of other scoop communities would be outstanding.

Hello,
I’ve been reading booman for a few months, but this is my first post.  I’ve been working for the last 7 months or so putting together a site that combines the community-empowerment of scoop and video.   We call it UpstartTV.  Here’s a snipit from our temporary blog – http://www.upstarttv.typepad.com/.
Thanks for the read.

The Idea:

UpstartTV is an open, user-driven web community. We are dedicated to creating high quality news, humor, sports and music content. We want everything. We run on a democratic model – one-person one vote – to
rank user submitted content. That way, the best pieces get seen by the most people. And when we say best, we mean it for all the right reasons. We pride ourselves on providing a forum for instant feedback
– and fact checking. We are a community engaged in the process of creating shows that we want to watch and news we trust. We don’t make the shows, you do, and that’s the key. For too long television has
been a force that lies to us, isolates us, and keeps us playing by the rules. The Internet has given us a way to break this paradigm and empower ourselves to take back our televisions (and our country!)

Now we just need to get together and make it happen.

The Format:

On UpstartTV, users will submit content, rate it, and drive discussion on the sites blog. UpstartTV is powered by the almighty Scoop (see
DailyKos, MyDD, Booman Tribune, etc.), which gives user ratings the power to push videos onto the front page or let them fade into history. You will control the front page. We will post topics for community discussion, but you will choose the video and the front-page content. If we make our own shows, they will go into the mix with no  special advantage.

We believe strongly in the wisdom of the community, so much that we are giving you control of the sites finances as well. This site will survive off ad revenue, so when you spend time on the site or tell
your friends about it, you generate revenue for the community. You invest your time, which is as important as money, and we will treat
you like an investor. We will report monthly on the economic situation around the site, and seek your guidance. You will keep us honest. You will be our checks and balances.

The Process:

The first step is to recruit a handful of good shows, to both give people a reason to visit and to inspire them to make their own. Then, after building a solid base for the community, we will begin to allow
trusted contributors to opt-into running short (15-30 sec.) ads before their video. The majority of the revenue generated from this ad will go directly to the contributor. It is our goal to enable our popular
contributors to produce their shows full-time. This will allow contributors to improve their content, and as they do, more people will watch and our community will grow. As our community grows, more
shows will be created and watched, helping us expand even further. Yousee the picture. More people means more money for contributors, which leads to better shows. Then we will take the next step, the move to TV.

We could save our pennies and buy a network (a la Current TV), but why play by the old rules when we can make new ones? We have already seen cable networks move towards content on demand (the old rules aren’t working for them either!). Not far down the road, people are going to realize they are sick and tired of being slaves to the TV schedule.
People will demand total control over their television experience. That gives us a fighting chance! Part of this on demand content will
come though the Internet, and on that playing field, our shows will thrive. We will create better TV – better news, better commentary, better comedy. Better everything.