• The New York Times, Tuesday, October 16, 2007 11 AM

Current TV, the media pet project of former Vice President and Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore, has undergone a strategic makeover that includes turning its Web site into the cornerstone of its growth strategy. Launched in 2005, Current has been a cable TV channel (offered only by certain providers) that gives documentarians, aspiring filmmakers and reporters the opportunity to submit short clips of their reports and films and get them on television. The New York Times describes it as a "free-wheeling, round-the-clock news mashup."

Right idea, wrong medium, says the Tnewspaper. The news mashup format was built for the Web, not TV. Plus, young Web users want to choose the stories they want to see. Heeding the call for a more interactive user experience, Current on Monday launched Current.com, which borrows heavily from Digg.com's model of letting users post comments and vote on the best stories. The ones with the most votes airs on television.

The new interactive site creates an interesting and potentially lasting relationship between the users and the content that's produced. For an upcoming story on Adderall addictions, the producer solicited ideas and questions from Current's audience. Viewers can even create commercials that sometimes make it to TV.

Read the whole story at The New York Times »