Last Thursday I wrote a little post about the new Al Gore-backed cable channel Current TV. I really wasn’t planning on revisiting the channel any time before maybe later this coming week, but sometime on Friday or Saturday I flipped over to 103 briefly, and I have to say … it was as bad as before.
I didn’t watch long because the very first thing I saw came damn close to offending me. I don’t mean because it was offensive content, per se. I mean because of how absolutely pathetic and amateurish this presentation was. I don’t know whether the segments that are apparently sponsored by or produced in conjunction with Google are considered “pods” or not, but I happened to flip on Current during a segment called “Google’s Under the Radar News.” This specific edition was titled “Say Cheese!”
I’m supposing “Under the Radar News” is supposed to be something that hasn’t gotten much media attention, and I guess this story sort of qualifies. I mean, certainly more than a couple articles in the New York Times alone doesn’t mean that the news is over the radar, does it? I specifically remember the June 11 one written by Monica Davey (abstract only; the article will cost you $$) and the grisly photos that accompanied it.
But I digress. The story was about “Meth Mouth,” a condition being noticed by dentists among patients who use crystal meth. Specifically, the teeth and gums rot. So during this segment of “Google’s Under the Radar News,” the announcer/host/presenter/whatever (who’s name I didn’t catch) read the following copy:
Almost a decade later, crystal meth has become widely popular in rural America, and dentists are start to notice. The drug is responsible for rotting the teeth of its users, a condition called “meth mouth.” How bad is it? One dentist says it’s like being hit in the mouth with a sledgehammer. One blogger predicts that the term, once it catches on, is going to be the new “crackhead.” Developed (actual chuckle) due to meth’s tendency to dry up saliva, cause cravings for sugary food, promote teeth grinding and in general because tweakers are less likely to brush their teeth.
Everybody go floss — I’ll see you in 30.
What’s missing from that script is how the host was speaking. He had this growing grin on his face throughout the whole thing, starting with a near chuckle after first saying “meth mouth.” Once he mentions the word “sledgehammer,” the grin grows a bit larger. But not quite as large as it starts to get after he says “crackhead.” In fact, by that point he can barely contain himself cause obviously this story is fucking hysterical. So funny, that he can barely get out the word “Developed,” and in the midst of stumbling over the word, he actually does utter an audible chuckle.
You know, this isn’t live television. At least, I’m pretty sure it’s not. Who’s running this network that thinks that segment was good television? That a story which is potentially “under the radar” but involves what actually is a growing drug problem that is directly affecting people — people supposedly of the age group that Current services — should be treated with such callousness? Aside from the fact that like everyone else on Current the segment host was reading his cue cards as badly as one can read a cue card, this wasn’t a fun piece? Why exactly wasn’t it retaped? Because the whole network has this idea that to be youthful and edgy it needs to put a sarcastic smile on every presentation? Take a lesson from MTV News of all places, Current. When they are talking about a serious issue, they deal with it seriously. When they aren’t, they don’t.
Current has such a long way to go before it becomes watchable, it’s ridiculous. Right now it’s basically a step-above Public Access, and that’s only because they have a bigger budget. Most college TV stations could do what Current is doing right now with far less money.
Oh yeah, what was the pod that came on after this little Google news travesty? How about the piece on base jumping which just happened to be one of the same original pods I saw on Monday during my first 90 minutes of watching. It seems that if you watch Current for up to approximately two hours any day during an entire week, that’s all you need.
Al, just like you did in your Presidential campaign, it’s not too late to fire everyone you’ve got running this thing. So far, they sure as hell don’t know what they’re doing. And before anyone criticizes me for not watching long enough, as soon as I can watch for five minutes without seeing something I’ve already seen days before, I’ll be sure to stick with it a little while more.
Out of Focus 