So I just learned about Current TV by this guy that came to my school for one of my film and media classes. He told us all about Current. When I heard it was started by Al Gore, I wasn't so interested. Oh great, a television station dedicated to global warming, ManBearBig, and slow monotimous talking. As I learned, it's so much more than that. Truthfully, its kind of confusing and hard to explain, but I'll go over the most important stuff.
First off, you need to know what it is before you learn what it does. Current is a new cable network co-founded by Al Gore. (I know, but stay with me.) There is also a website, current.com. The network and the site are closely related, and the idea is to revolutionize network TV and especially the news. The network is for spreading information, and in that sense, it is technically a news station. But its different. Listen here.
Randomness:
The network plays what they call "pods," which are short segments that range anywhere from 1 to 30 minutes, usually on the shorter side. Most run between 2-10 minutes. Obviously, this makes scheduling unconventional. There is no set time to watch anything, and there really is not set shows. I do believe that on the hour they play a lil named segment of their's, but thats it. Everything else can appear whenever. In this sense, it is random, though there is some thought behind what is shown when by the producers.
VJs and Journalists:
Like the old MTV, there are VJs who will introduce some videos as well as do some news type segments. There are also a few crews who are sent out to locations across the world to make pods. These VJs and Journalists are basically the only hosts of the network that appear regularly. There are some other kids who I wouldn't call journalists because what they do are less like journalism, but close enough.
Contributors:
The most fascinating part to me (as a film student) is how they get their content. Approximately 1/3 of what is shown on air is viewer/user contributed. People are encouraged to contribute media to the website, and then what the producers feel we would like (and what we tell the producers we like through voting) is aired. Another, say 10-15% is pre-recorded, purchased footage such as old skateboard videos. The rest is created by crews of young people who working for the network. BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE! All of the user-contributed segments are paid for. The payments generally range from $200-$1500. At a few minutes per clip, a lot of contracts are being signed on a daily basis. Further more, they greatly encourage the advancement of young people, and will not retain all the rights to anything in the case of something larger stemming from a contributors work. That is, if someone makes a cartoon for the network, and they pay and air it, and this leads to a full blown series like Lil Bush or South Park, the network claims they will not stand in the way. Many of the commercials are also user-contributed, and have the potential to be fully bought by the company it is for. This means, if the commercial is really good, the company will pay you so that they can air it across all stations. (potentially bringing you many thousands of dollars if its so good they want to play it on the super bowl)
Furthermore, contributed videos can come from around the world. Anyone with online access can submit a video. If the video is deemed interesting and entertaining, it will be played on air. If it is from another country, it will be sub-titled or dubbed. There is currently a Current network running (besides the US) in England and Ireland, with a few other countries being finalized. It is very likely that American videos will be shown in Britain, and vise-versa.
Content:
The network is dedicated to spreading information, and therefore very few of the segments are fictional. It is meant to be national and internation news which isn't filtered and controlled by the big media corporations, but also to be TV that viewers can't get anywhere else. The targeted audience is roughly between 18 and 25. I was told that their main three topics to cover are:
1. sex and relationships
2. careers
3. spirituality/religion/meaning of life
This is because they have been deemed the main 3 things the youth want to hear about, but don't.
It seems to be up and running in all the big satellite/cable companies except Cox Cable. Go to their website for a list of channels for each provider. Please check into. This is like nothing before it, and right up the ally of all you progressiveu users.
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