• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, August 1, 2005

Current, the Al Gore-backed cable news channel, had some altruistic views on the world of news: Let everyone offer their point of view, unfiltered and unedited.

But the real world doesn't work that way - not in journalism. Though the Internet provides bloggers with status, they are one factor in news coverage. TV networks need to have - even if only a smidgen -- balance.

So Current, which debuts today, pulled back from that ambitious plan, deciding it couldn't be truly democratic, couldn't truly dabble in 'citizenry journalism.' The network originally intended to hand out low cost equipment to 2,000 applicants interested in providing content. This proved to be too elitist, according to Gore. Now, Current plans to offer about 25 percent of audience-generated content; the main bulk of the content will be produced by experienced producers and journalists.

The audience-generated content could be interesting - if the person knows what to look for. But most of that content would be more like opinion, not reporting. A proper news organization can't be totally opinion -- unless you are going for something else. Do citizen journalists need to seek the other side of the story - or is it only important to get the point of view from the mother who says her husband beats her up? Write and produce a story. Make sure your light-weight Sony camera shows the bruise marks and you've got a story. You better make sure that it's fair - or there could be some lawsuits lurking.

Professional editors back in the newsroom offer protection - but then that defeats the "unfiltered" purpose, doesn't it? Even if these problems are solved, can Current be compelling enough? Perhaps viewers might just make boring TV.

Current doesn't want to be political - though many analysts are already trying to pit it right against the strong conservative/Republican domain of Fox News Channel. National TV advertisers will take the leap if the network has some buzz.

If not it will soon be like every other news organization.