Al Gore's cable channel aims for young viewers

Al Gore's cable channel aims for young viewers
LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - A new cable channel headed by former Vice President Al Gore hopes to draw twentysomethings looking for news, information and features produced by young adults for young adults.Current TV, of which Gore is chairman, will launch Aug. 1 in 20 million cable and satellite households nationwide in place of 24-hour news channel Newsworld International.About 25% of the content will be produced by viewers, much of it submitted over the Internet using new, cheaper video and editing technology; all of it will be in short three- to seven-minute "pods" of content on topics including youth culture in Iran, parenting and spirituality."We want to be the television home page for the Internet generation," said Gore, who along with other members of the San Francisco-based channel made a presentation Monday afternoon at the Television Critics Assn. summer press tour at the Beverly Hilton.What Gore and his young staff are trying is an innovative blend of content and advertising that will merge high- and low-tech video along with advertiser-sponsored spots and three minutes of longform advertisements every hour. It wants to have a heavy Internet component, allowing viewers to vote on what they want to see on the channel as well as serve as a two-way conduit between viewers and programers. It's not a news network, though there is a collaboration with the search engine Google that provides reports every half hour on what Google users are looking for in popular culture and the issues of the day."At its core, Current TV will be a place where 18- to 34-year-olds can tune in to see what's going on in their world," said Laura Ling, who will appear on air and manage enterprise video journalism for Current. Ling has been a producer for Channel One News and has worked for ABC's "Nightline," PBS and NBC.While early stories about the channel highlighted Gore's role in the network, the former presidential candidate said there's no political tilt to Current."I think the reality of the network will speak for itself. It's not intended to be partisan in any way, not ideological in any way," Gore said.

Vice President Al Gore in 2008

Al Gore was inaugurated as the 45th Vice President of the United States on January 20, 1993. President Clinton and Vice President Gore were re-elected to a second term in 1996, and Vice President Gore was sworn in again on January 20, 1997. Together, they have led this country into the longest period of sustained economic growth in American history — marked by 22 million new jobs, and real incomes rising for the first time in a generation.Vice President Gore serves as an advisor to President Clinton, a Cabinet member, President of the U.S. Senate, a member of the National Security Council, and head of a wide range of Administration initiatives.Vice President Gore was born on March 31, 1948, and is the son of the late U.S. Senator Albert Gore, Sr. and Pauline Gore. Raised in Carthage, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C., Vice President Gore received a degree in government with honors from Harvard University in 1969. After graduation, he volunteered for enlistment in the U.S. Army and served in Vietnam. Returning to civilian life, Vice President Gore became an investigative reporter with The Tennessean in Nashville. He attended Vanderbilt University Divinity School and Vanderbilt Law School.Vice President Gore began his career in public service in 1976 when he was elected to represent Tennessee in the U.S. House of Representatives (1977-1985). He was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1984 and was re-elected in 1990 (1985-993). A candidate for the Democratic nomination for President in 1988, he won more than three million votes and Democratic contests in seven states.Vice President Gore is married to the former Mary Elizabeth “Tipper” Aitcheson. They have four children: Karenna (born August 6, 1973), married to Drew Schiff; Kristin (born June 5, 1977), Sarah (born January 7, 1979), and Albert III (born October 19, 1982). The Gores also have one grandchild — Karenna and Drew’s son Wyatt, born last summer on the Fourth of July.Vice President Gore owns a small farm near Carthage, and the family attends New Salem Missionary Baptist Church in Carthage.