BUZZ OFF O'REILLY.... Here's Al
time.com
Will We See Gore TV?
The former Veep is assisting in an effort to create a liberal alternative to conservative talk radio, and is exploring a cable television venture
By KAREN TUMULTY
Look out, Rupert, here comes … Al?
Since deciding not to make another race for the White House in 2004, former Vice President 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 network.
What role Gore himself would play in any of these ventures is still far from clear. "He can pull out at any time," says one associate who has spoken to him about the concept. "He can say, 'This isn't my deal.' But he's interested." Gore has been exploring and encouraging several types of possibilities in recent months, and consulting closely with Joel Hyatt, the founder of Hyatt Legal Services, a nationwide chain of low-cost, storefront legal clinics. (Hyatt ran for Senate from Ohio in 1994, unsuccessfully seeking the seat that was vacated by the retirement of his father-in-law, Howard Metzenbaum.) One entertainment industry source who met with Gore and Hyatt earlier this year said that, at that time, part of what they envisioned was youth-oriented programming, "putting video cameras in the hands of kids." Another source close to Gore and Hyatt says the venture would not resemble a traditional cable news outlet, but would be "something totally different in concept and format."
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