Al Gore has been devoting considerable time to another dream, one he shares with many Democrats these days — creating a media enterprise that could challenge the dominance of conservative voices in cable television and talk radio. Numerous sources in Hollywood and Washington tell TIME that Gore has been quietly sounding out potential financial backers for a cable television network. Separately, Gore has helped arrange meetings between key Hollywood figures and a wealthy Chicago couple who have publicly announced plans to invest $10 million in a liberal radio networkImagine what a self-described liberal radio or TV network would be like! (Remember, outlets like NPR and the big-3 networks call themselves "balanced.") I'm totally in favor of this. It would, to distinguish itself from other left-leaning outlets, have to be so completely over the top that it would be entertaining. Al could have a show. Jesse Jackson could have a show (and maybe another one, quietly, on the side). Phil Donahue could finally pull the amen-viewers he desires so much with his desk-pounding sermons on the supremacy of good intentions. The kook (er, activist) who sat in the tree for a year could have a show where she interviews the environment. (Repetitious drawback: Every tree's favorite color is green.) How about a union-member roundtable show, with a once-a-year WWF tie in where they break scabs' knees? Hell, give Mumia a show (just 15 minutes, like Nat X).
Of course, it would all fold in a matter of months. First, it would be corrupt. (Whoever heard of a leftist organization that wasn't?) Second, there would be no long-term audience. Face it, if the market were there, Jesse would still have his show on CNN, Donahue would still be on MSNBC, and Gore would be running in '04. (In fact, the whole cable-news-talk ratings game seems increasingly like a case of gigantic mice fighting over a microscopic speck of cheese.) But for a brief, shining moment, it would be the zenith of unintentional hilarity.
No comments:
Post a Comment