Gore Eyeing Liberal Cable Network, Magazine Says

[Guest MrRant]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Former Vice President Al Gore (news - web sites) is seeking financial backers for a liberal cable television network to help Democrats counter conservative media voices, Time magazine reported on its Web site on Wednesday.

 

Gore, who ran unsuccessfully for the White House in 2000 against President Bush (news - web sites), has met with politically oriented figures in Hollywood and wealthy investors, Time said on its Web site Time.com, citing unnamed sources.

 

The Democrats wants to build a media enterprise (news - web sites) to counter conservative voices on cable television and talk radio, and his network would feature "progressive" viewpoints, Time said.

 

Gore's role in any such enterprise is unclear, it said.

 

He also arranged meetings between Hollywood figures and venture capitalists Sheldon and Anita Drobny who want to invest $10 million in a liberal radio network, Time said.

 

Democrats have complained that Republicans have had an advantage in media with the number of conservative voices on cable television and radio talk shows, and they hope to build a stronger media presence as the 2004 election approaches.

 

Gore opted against another run for the White House in 2004, although his former running mate Sen. Joseph Lieberman is hoping to become the Democratic Party's presidential nominee to challenge Bush next year.

 

The Time article cited an interview Gore gave to the New York Observer newspaper last year, in which he said: "The media is kind of weird these days on politics, and there are some major institutional voices that are, truthfully speaking, part and parcel of the Republican Party."

 

"There's a bunch of them, and some of them are financed by wealthy ultra-conservative billionaires who make political deals with Republican administrations and the rest of the media," Gore said in the interview.

 

A spokesman for Gore could not immediately be reached for comment

[Guest JMA]

I'm all for this. There needs to be a counter to Fox News and conservative radio pundits. Hopefully, their efforts will be successful.

[Guest teke184]

Don't we already have CNN? *ducks chairs thrown by Fox News haters*

[Guest MrRant]

And MSNBC.

[Guest Cancer Marney]

And NPR.

[Guest JMA]

And MSNBC.

 

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

 

You mean Fox Jr.? This is the network that hired an O'Reilly clone and Michael Savage. And CNN is a lot more moderate than liberal, nowadays.

[Guest Hogan Made Wrestling]

As long as it features people like Clinton rather than people like Gore it could work.

[Guest MrRant]

Didn't MSNBC have Donahue?

[Guest JMA]

Didn't MSNBC have Donahue?

Yes. Now they don't. Their only goal, it seems, is ratings. They seem to just be copying Fox, now (which, in a way, makes them more embarassing). I mean, Scarbourough even has O'Reilly's facial mannerisms. It's scary how similar they are.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Oh, Jesus. Another liberal media argument.

 

These media outlets are looking for ratings, not ideology. CNN, along with MSNBC and Fox, are the only media outlets that had Bush's approval rating go up last week.

 

All others had him go down by at least 3 points.

 

Yes. The media is very liberal.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

NPR, by the way, is the only network mentioned that could be construed as liberal at all.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Not to spam the thread, but let's not forget the utter lack of coverage about the FCC's consolidation efforts. That's a huge liberal issue right now, and how much airtime did it get?

 

Uh, none.

 

How much air time have ANY of the democratic candidates recieved on the so-called "mainstream media" outlets?

 

None.

[Guest JMA]

I agree. The argument for the so-called "liberal media" is ludacris.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

And MSNBC.

I dunno, they seem to be overdosing on the dittoheads lately.

 

 

I've always believed that CNN is a moderate station but this is because I see quite a bit of out-of-the-country news and if the people who call CNN lefty could see those international news programs, they'd start to realize just how moderate CNN is.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

Can't forget about the network news stations, especially ABC.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

I've always believed that CNN is a moderate station but this is because I see quite a bit of out-of-the-country news and if the people who call CNN lefty could see those international news programs, they'd start to realize just how moderate CNN is.

 

Exactly...

[Guest La Parka Es Mi Papa]

Ugh. When the news is affiliated with any ideology, they lose credibility.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Do you watch Fox, by any chance?

[Guest MrRant]

You just don't like the fact that FOX News is fair and balanced.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

I know

[Guest La Parka Es Mi Papa]

No, I don't watch Fox. It is neither fair nor balanced.

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Fair enough.

[Guest JMA]

You just don't like the fact that FOX News is fair and balanced.

Sure it is...

[Guest NoCalMike]

I watch Fox, but not to learn anything new. I just find the guys on there more entertaining.

I watch MSNBC for Hardball and I used to watch Donahue, but he is gone now. They need to hurry up and get Ventura's show off it's feet, but I have a feeling networks are gonna like what he has to say about the 2-part system, and he will be fried quick.......

 

Oh and Tyler, good looking out regarding the coverage on the media consolidation. I read a bunch about it on the net, yet was hard-pressed to find ANY coverage on any major news cable network about whether in favor or against it. That boggled my mind, until I realized that it should have been obvious why it wasn't covered...haha.

[Guest Vern Gagne]

They need to hurry up and get Ventura's show off it's feet, but I have a feeling networks are gonna like what he has to say about the 2-part system, and he will be fried quick.......

Why Ventura is a big idiot. The reason they haven't started his show was all the test runs where so awful they couldn't put them on the air. They tried having a co-host, and know he has a little segment every week on Lester Holt. The guys radio shows consisted of him talking about the Kennedy Conspiracy, acting out the famous "Do you feel lucky Punk" scene in Dirty Harry, and reading Redneck jokes on the air.

[Guest Jobber of the Week]

EDIT: Nevermind. I fail to detect sarcasm

[Guest Goodear]

And American Politicians continue to treat the governmental process like a football game. Come on guys, we can't let the other side win!

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

Oh boy, lets rehash this bit over again.

 

Back to the subject.

 

Gee, whatever happened to that "Al Franken" talk radio idea?...

[Guest Tyler McClelland]

Actually, they're still working on that.

[Guest kkktookmybabyaway]

So then there could be TWO new liberal talk radio networks. I'll believe it when I hear it.

 

And then I'll change the radio dial...