I am not holding my breath waiting for Paul Jay's Independent World Television (IWT) to get much corporate media traction, even after it officially launches its web site tomorrow.
That's because the project is antithetical to everything about the corporate media. Besides, it's a Canadian-led initiative.
The Star -- and in its business section yet -- has been the only mainstream paper to carry this story of how Jay hopes to ''change the economics of television'' by launching a grassroots anti-CNN, not beholding to advertisers, corporate shareholders or underwriting or government funding. I wrote about it last month, in a column that was picked up by alternative left/lib websites and blogs.
"We think that, as long as you're dependent on commercials, or if you're corporately owned and you have to be concerned about shareholders and the broader corporate interest, or if you have to take money from a government that appoints your president and your chair and can cut your budget at any time, you can't really have independent journalism," (Jay) insists.
Here are more takes on IWT which will rely on contributions from viewers to present its news and information programming.
This is beyond public broadcasting. This is TV by and for the people and not the soap, suds and SUV-makers.
To get this idea off the ground, Jay -- dubbed "visionary" by The Nation's Peter Rothberg -- needs to make inroads into the blogosphere, which is global.
Or should be.
Ya hear me guys?
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