Gore's other Truth blends O.M. and N.M.

While his An Inconvenient Truth racks up grande Super Size Me box office Al Gore's other media initiative, CurrentTV, is quietly profitable and an interesting blend of of O.M (Old Media) and N.M. (you can figure it out).

Profiled recently in the San Francisco Chronicle, Current TV led the User Generated Content (or as they call it, Viewer Created Content or VC2) initiative now so popular at YouTube and MySpace. The VC2 idea was ridiculed a year ago when the cable and satellite channel launched, but former Democractic Party fundraiser and CurrentTV CEO Joel Hyatt is vindicated and feels good about Current's unique programming mix.

"Content creators -- people who want to share their stories with their generational cohorts -- believe that television is at a whole different level than the Web," Hyatt said. "So, yes, anybody can submit a piece of video to, fill in the blank -- YouTube, iFilm, Google Video, Yahoo video -- and it's all put up there. And it's a big mass of stuff.

THR respecfully disagrees ... is the allure of being programmed at 3 AM on Current's cable channel three times a week more powerful than being on YouTube 24/7? However, the unique blend of VC2 and traditional 'professional' programming make Current a unique TV option ... one worth setting the remote down. And once you're hooked by the TV experience, surf away from YouTube, MySpace, and even THR to check out http://current.tv