Return to Transcripts main page
Live From...
TIME: Gore Considering Media Venture
Aired June 18, 2003 - 15:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: "TIME" magazine is reporting on its Web site that former Vice President Al Gore is quietly sounding out potential financial backers for a cable television network. This would be a liberal alternative, presumably, to conservative talk radio and television.
With me now, "TIME"'s Karen Tumulty, who wrote the article.
Karen, now set us straight. What exactly is Al Gore trying to do here?
KAREN TUMULTY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, there are a couple things going on here.
For one thing, the vice president is helping out on an already announced venture by a couple of Chicago venture capitalists who set up a liberal talk radio network. The vice president has been making calls to key people in Hollywood, arranging meetings to people -- with people like Rob Reiner, the producer and director.
On top of that and separately, he and Joel Hyatt, whose name is familiar because he is the founder of a big chain of legal clinics, -- Al Gore and Joel Hyatt has been talking for months about a television venture, the shape of which has been evolving, and according to the most recent person I talked to who is very close to those talks -- he said it would be something unlike anything that we have seen in format and tone.
WOODRUFF: Aimed at what or whom?
TUMULTY: Well, that is precisely what they are -- they are pretty cagey about at this point.
However we do know that the vice president has, in fact, been very critical of conservative talk radio, of conservative cable television networks. He argues that they have essentially become a fifth column for the Republican Party. So this is an argument that he has made quite frequently.
WOODRUFF: So the point of this would be that Al Gore himself would be on television and on the radio, or is this a behind-the- scenes kind of thing? What sense are you getting?
TUMULTY: What is still very much up in the air is precisely what his involvement would be. Among other things, we do know that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) would actually like to see him do commentary on their liberal radio.
WOODRUFF: This is the Chicago...
TUMULTY: That's right.
WOODRUFF: ...company.
TUMULTY: The venture capitalists who have pledged $10 million toward setting up this radio network and expect to have it up within the next few months.
WOODRUFF: So two different things. One radio, perhaps one television still evolving.
TUMULTY: Right.
WOODRUFF: All right. Karen Tumulty, who reported this just today for the "TIME" magazine Web site. Thanks for coming by.
TUMULTY: Thank you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
Aired June 18, 2003 - 15:24 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JUDY WOODRUFF, CNN ANCHOR: "TIME" magazine is reporting on its Web site that former Vice President Al Gore is quietly sounding out potential financial backers for a cable television network. This would be a liberal alternative, presumably, to conservative talk radio and television.
With me now, "TIME"'s Karen Tumulty, who wrote the article.
Karen, now set us straight. What exactly is Al Gore trying to do here?
KAREN TUMULTY, "TIME" MAGAZINE: Well, there are a couple things going on here.
For one thing, the vice president is helping out on an already announced venture by a couple of Chicago venture capitalists who set up a liberal talk radio network. The vice president has been making calls to key people in Hollywood, arranging meetings to people -- with people like Rob Reiner, the producer and director.
On top of that and separately, he and Joel Hyatt, whose name is familiar because he is the founder of a big chain of legal clinics, -- Al Gore and Joel Hyatt has been talking for months about a television venture, the shape of which has been evolving, and according to the most recent person I talked to who is very close to those talks -- he said it would be something unlike anything that we have seen in format and tone.
WOODRUFF: Aimed at what or whom?
TUMULTY: Well, that is precisely what they are -- they are pretty cagey about at this point.
However we do know that the vice president has, in fact, been very critical of conservative talk radio, of conservative cable television networks. He argues that they have essentially become a fifth column for the Republican Party. So this is an argument that he has made quite frequently.
WOODRUFF: So the point of this would be that Al Gore himself would be on television and on the radio, or is this a behind-the- scenes kind of thing? What sense are you getting?
TUMULTY: What is still very much up in the air is precisely what his involvement would be. Among other things, we do know that (UNINTELLIGIBLE) would actually like to see him do commentary on their liberal radio.
WOODRUFF: This is the Chicago...
TUMULTY: That's right.
WOODRUFF: ...company.
TUMULTY: The venture capitalists who have pledged $10 million toward setting up this radio network and expect to have it up within the next few months.
WOODRUFF: So two different things. One radio, perhaps one television still evolving.
TUMULTY: Right.
WOODRUFF: All right. Karen Tumulty, who reported this just today for the "TIME" magazine Web site. Thanks for coming by.
TUMULTY: Thank you, Judy.
WOODRUFF: We appreciate it.
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com
