New TV network aims at 18-34 demographic
Current, co-founded byAl Gore, will use the Internet
to give viewers the opportunity to air their material
BY EVA SYLWESTER
NEWS REPORTER
It’s hard to walk through a college
campus or any place where the mar
keters’ coveted 18-34 age demo
graphic congregate and not see iPod
music players. Now, a new television
network plans to translate iPod’s con
cept of randomly shuffled chtinks of
entertainment onto the TV screen.
Former Vice President A1 Gore co
founded the network called Current,
which is set to be the first national
network “created for, by and with an
18-34 year-old audience,” according
to a press release.
Beginning Aug. 1, Current will
broadcast to nearly 20 million sub
scriber households in the United
States via DirecTV’s basic digital tier,
Time Warner Cable’s basic digital tier
and Comcast systems in key markets.
In contrast to the half-hour blocks of
traditional TV shows, the network’s
24-hour programming will run in
15-second to five-minute segments,
referred to as “pods,” featuring a va
riety of topics. The mix will be
25 percent news, 30 percent informa
tion, 20 percent social, 20 percent es
cape, and 5 percent wild card.
“Novelty attracts attention. We
know this,” University psychology
professor Michael Anderson said. He
added that people seeing something
continuously tend to get used to it
and start tuning it out.
A key element of Current’s pro
gramming will be viewer input. Ac
cording to the press release, Current
will offer a free online training pro
gram through its Web site, www.cur
rent.tv, so that anyone with a digital
video camera and computer can
learn how to make his or her own
video segments.
Viewers will then be able to access,
via Current’s Web site, the same list
of assignments that Current’s in
house production team works on. Af
ter agreeing to take on a story, ama
teur reporters can upload their video
segments onto the Web site, where
fellow viewers and collaborators can
review submissions and vote their fa
vorites onto the air. As of April 13, the
site had already received 366 uploads
from 235 people.
One of the network’s aims is to give
young adults the same flexibility in tel
evision programming that they are ac
customed to having on the Internet. A
2004 study by the Online Publishers
Association found that 46 percent of
18 to 34 year olds are more likely to log
on to the Internet compared to 35 per
cent who prefer to watch TV.
“The Internet opened a floodgate
for young people whose passions are
finally being heard, but TV hasn’t fol
lowed suit,” Gore said in the press re
lease. “Young adults have a powerful
voice, but you can’t hear that voice
on television yet.”
Gore said Current aims to give
those who crave the empowerment
of the Web the same opportunity for
expression on television.
“We want to transform the televi
sion medium itself, giving a national
platform to those who are hungry to
help create the TV they want to
watch,” he said in the release.
The network will maintain connec
tions to the Internet and has a partner
ship with Google. “Google Current,” a
news feature that will run every half
hour, will have news reports based on
whatever the most popular Google
search is at the moment.
Some wonder what the impact of
the short program segments might be.
“It could potentially trivialize im
portant issues and not give people
the coverage they want to make in
formed decisions,” Anderson said.
“That’s just my opinion, but if it’s
just for entertainment, why not?”
evasylwester@dailyemerald.com
Governor Kulongoski pushes for civil unions law
BY BRAD CAIN
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SALEM — Democratic Gov. Ted
Kulongoski said Wednesday he will
push for a law allowing gay couples
to form civil unions that would give
them many of the rights available to
married couples.
Kulongoski’s announcement came
as the Oregon Supreme Court posted
on its Web site its plan to rule Thurs
day on the validity of 3,000 marriage
licenses issued to same-sex couples
last year in Multnomah County.
Members of the Legislature have
been awaiting the court ruling to give
them guidance on how to proceed on
the issue of same-sex couples.
The governor said Wednesday that
he is working with a bipartisan group
of senators on the civil unions bill.
Kulongoski’s backing of a civil
unions law expands on his announce
ment in January that he would support
legislation extending anti-discrimina
tion protections to gays.
“As I stated in January, we face a
great moral challenge to make sure op
portunity is an open door through
which every citizen can pass, not a re
volving door which turns for some and
doesn’t budge for others,” he said.
Vermont is the first and still the
only state to offer civil unions to
gays, passing a law in 2000. Massa
chusetts has allowed gay marriage
since last May.
Multnomah County issued nearly
3,000 marriage licenses to same-sex
couples last year before the practice
was stopped by Circuit Judge
Frank Bearden.
In his ruling, the judge recom
mended that the 2005 Legislature
craft a law that would guarantee gay
and lesbian couples the same rights
as married couples.
But the ruling was appealed to the
Oregon Supreme Court after the De
fense of Marriage Coalition chal
lenged the validity of the Multnomah
County marriage licenses.
The coalition also sponsored a
state constitutional amendment ban
ning gay marriage that was approved
by Oregon voters in November.
Few observers were offering pre
dictions of how the Supreme Court
would rule in the case Thursday.
Among other options, the court
could decide that same-sex couples
are entitled to legal alternatives to
marriage such as civil unions. The
court also could decide, based on the
constitutional amendment approved
by voters in November, that same-sex
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couples have no such legal right.
Or the court could send the case
back to Multnomah County for fur
ther action with no clear direction to
the Legislature on how to proceed on
same-sex couples.
“There’s lots of side channels the
court could take,” said David Fi
danque of the American Civil Liber
ties Union, who during the Supreme
Court arguments said legislators
should enact a civil unions law.
“Even if the court ducks the is
sue, it is our hope the Legislature
will pass civil unions legislation,”
Fidanque said.
Tim Nashif, head of the Oregon
Family Council and the Defense of
Marriage Coalition, said he’s
hoping the court will simply invali
date the 3,000 marriage licenses
issued to same-sex couples in
Multnomah County.
Any other action, such as endors
ing a civil unions law, would be
“pretty hard to swallow” in view of
voters’ approval of a gay marriage
ban, Nashif said.
The state’s leading gay rights
group, Basic Rights Oregon, praised
the governor’s decision to move
ahead on civil unions legislation.
“All Oregonians should take pride
today in Gov. Kulongoski’s tremen
dous public and personal commit
ment to ending discrimination,”
said Roey Thorpe, the group’s
executive director.
Kulongoski said the bill is co-spon
sored by Democratic Sens. Kate
Brown of Portland and Alan Bates of
Ashland and Republican Sens. Frank
Morse of Albany and Ben Westlund
of Bend.
Union: Health care dilemma
represents nationwide crisis
isswiesajKenipafssiana maximum con
tributions by employers and said “at
some point it’s possible (employees
will) have to contribute to their
health care.”
Problems with the cost of health
insurance are evident across the
country and Oregon has been hit
with particularly crippling financial
problems, which Hampton said can
account for some of the sticking
points in health care.
“Health care tends to be an issue in
every negotiation these days, private
or public sector,” Hampton said.
Union members said the financial
crisis facing the state is no reason
for a reduction in their health
care benefits.
“I know we’re in a crisis. The
whole state is in a crisis,” union
member and Oregon state parks em
ployee Angie Hazelton said. “We’re
not asking for a whole lot. We’re just
asking for a living wage.”
Holmberg said the union is not just
fighting to maintain the health care
coverage they currently have, they’re
also working to draw attention to
state senate bills aimed at controlling
the rising cost of health care.
“What we’re proposing is some
thing that would be to the benefit of
all Oregonians and would basically
pull the reins back on the big busi
ness that is health care, so that it is
n’t just shifted to the employees,”
Holmberg said.
The union is rallying support for
Senate Bills 501, 502, 503, 504 and
sus. tne union says me diiis locus on
creating a health care insurance rate
review board, giving the review
board power to set hospital prices, re
quiring public examination of the
need for new hospital spending, re
quiring certain hospitals to set up fi
nancial assistance programs and ex
panding the Oregon Prescription
Drug Program, respectively.
Hampton said because the state is
handling the negotiations concerning
health care coverage, he cannot com
ment on how the bargaining is going,
but he said the issues the OUS is
working on with the union have not
generated much conflict.
“I don’t feel that things are heat
ing up in the issues we are negotiat
ing,” Hampton said, adding that
OUS’ side of the contract proposal
does not include any major take
aways or reductions.
Negotiations are expected to last
several months, and Holmberg said
the union will be rallying in Salem
on May 21 to commemorate the
10-year anniversary of the statewide
membership strike that saw
10,000 union members rally at the
Capitol building.
“This action has put the emphasis
on the major economic issues, and
health care is one of those major eco
nomic issues that’s surfacing at every
single bargaining table across the na
tion,” Holmberg said.
meghanncimiff@dailyemerald.com
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