MUMBAI: The flag waving coverage of the recent Iraq conflict from the "conservative channels" such as Rupert Murdoch's Fox drew the ire of viewers across the globe. There are people who believe that the US media betrayed the trust that was reposed in it by acting as a mouthpiece for Bush. Now, reports indicate that former US VP Al Gore is planning a channel Al TV to offer a counter punch.
 

A Time report indicates that Gore has quietly been doing the rounds seeking entrepreneurs with deep pockets to fund a cable television network. It looks at presenting views that are progressive and which offer scope for broader debate.

A part of the content would target the youth by putting video cameras in the hands of kids as it were.

What could be a source of encouragement for Gore and the Democrats would the sales of Hillary Clinton's recently released autobiography - Living History. With Monica Lewinsky in the book, however, how much sales have to do with the Democrat's viewpoint per se is debatable though.

Gore has gone on record describing the conservative outlets as a "fifth column" within the media ranks. He accused them of inserting the Republican views into the definition of what constitutes objectivity.

"Fox News Network, The Washington Times , Rush Limbaugh theres a bunch of them, and some of them are financed by wealthy ultra-conservative billionaires who make political deals with Republican administrations and the rest of the media," Gore has been quoted as saying. Such was the distortion in the US networks coverage of the recent conflict that one third of the American public believe that weapons of mass destruction were found in Iraq. Another 22 per cent believe Iraq used chemical or biological weapons against coalition forces a report states.

Another reason for the proposed TV network is that the Presidential elections are a year away and therefore Gore is looking to increase his media visibility.