Current TV - if you don't have the money to do it right, when will you have the money to do it over?

[Ninga]

Current TV with it's focus on politics, and in this HD world, had woeful 1950's-quality broadcasting productions and never had in place a plan of programing to attract and then keep viewers tuned in.

Certainly there are enough seasoned TV producers and other TV type consultants that could have helped Current start with just enough quality programming to keep viewers interested so that it had a chance to grow.

But on the other hand, maybe the sale of Current was what Al Gore and Joel Hyatt had planed all along. Who knows?

It would have been interesting for policy and politics to have seen Current thrive.

[physioex]

1. I watch Current quite often....

And I do understand what you are saying. The reason I watch is more for the content rather than production value. I enjoy the Gavin Newsom show, and really it is a no frills discussion program like Charlie Rose. The same same could be said of shows like Young Turks, and Stephanie Miller. I am also a big fan of Al Jazeera, and I have no idea where this merger will take is in terms of content and programming. The good news is programs like Young Turks are really independent of Current. In the big picture I think we will move away from a centralized media to more blogs and independent sources thanks to the internets.

In conclusion, no worries, the future looks bright for independent media outlets.

[Bluenorthwest]

3. It is not a merger, it is an aquisition of Current by AJ. Current will be no more.

nt

[Bluenorthwest]

2. I watched Current from the early days through Olberman and then stopped. They had some

great shows, fired them all one by one. Then came Keith, and all that crap. People screamed at Keith for having technical standards in his contract he wanted enforced, blamed him for wanting the sort of quality that might have given Current a chance. The shows looked like public access from the 80's. The 'talent' currently taking checks from them should be ashamed for their lack of self respect.
Ah well, Al and Joel made a profit and that's all it was ever about anyway.

[physioex]

4. I was wrong when I referred to it as a merger....

And I was aware that Al Gore completely sold it to Al Jazeera. I was never a fan of Keith, I think his head was always too big. I dunno maybe it is just me....