Progressive Democrat Issue 38: MEDIA ACTIVISM: Al Gore wants your Pods!

We always talk about retaking the media. We mostly focus on news media because that is where people get their information. But culture in general is threatened by the right wing view of what is okay to watch and what isn’t. Our culture, heavily affected by what we watch on TV, is dictated to us by the advertisers and businesses that dominate TV. Well, we have one small way of expressing ourselves on a new cable network and of giving our small stamp on youth culture. If you have a video camera and the skill to use it, Al Gore wants your Pods! Al Gore's new network, Current TV, provides us with a really cool opportunity--the opportunity to MAKE our own media and pitch it to youth America.

My wife and I used to be in the habit of watching News World International every morning. NWI is now off the air, replaced by Al Gore's new, "hip" Current TV. Well, my wife and I aren't very hip, but we have gotten sucked in by Current TV. And it appeals to our 10-year old daughter as well. She actually got angry about police brutality and discussed politics with me of her own initiative! Unheard of! The format is slick and the announcers somewhat irritating, but some of the segments, called "Pods," are quite good. They have talked about the irony of making Bolton UN Ambassador, about police brutality against anti-globalization protesters and the need for better sex ed if we want to stop the spread of AIDS. If Al Gore is avoiding overt progressive politics on his new network, he is certainly going for progressive CULTURE on Current TV. But there is a problem and, you know what, we can and we SHOULD solve that problem.

As pointed out in the Salon.com review of Current TV, the Pods are good but there aren't enough of them. They seem to have enough for about 2-3 hours of programming which they keep looping through. They need more programming and that programming can come from us progressives if we make the effort! They solicit new Pods from viewers and you can get paid for it if they select your Pod. I think it is about $250 for a 10 min Pod, or $1000 per Pod if you become a regular contributor.

We talk about the need to retake the media, right? Well, this is it, folks! Here is a perfect chance to take a small step towards retaking the media. Air America Radio gives us a small piece of the radio market. Democracy Now gives us a tiny part of the television market, mainly on lousy public access channels. Now comes Current TV, a media station that WANTS us to send them our video footage of WHATEVER we think is interesting. Why aren't we taking immediate advantage of this? If we want to influence the media, any one of us with a video camera and some skill at filming and some creative idea(s) should be making Pods for Current TV and sending them in.

The progressive community strikes me as a creative, interesting bunch. Why shouldn't we be able to participate in Al Gore's cultural experiment? Get out your video cameras if you have them. Think about something you are most interested in (doesn't have to be political, of course). Their segments aren't always earth shattering, but they are generally very personal and interesting. Film a 10 min segment on it and send it in! To quote Howard Dean, YOU HAVE THE POWER. Current TV is giving you an outlet for that power. Let's not let this opportunity pass us by. This may be the best opportunity we have to influence media and youth culture.

Send Al Gore your Pods.