'Dean strategists involved in helping create left-wing CNN?''

"This was one of the main stories found today at The Tyee, which is an alternative new-media left-wing source based out of British Columbia, Canada:

"Independent World Television will go public on June 15. The goal, as bold as it is big, is to create an alternative news and current affairs network that is, as its name implies, global in reach and free from corporate or government pressures. The network’s success depends on changing the economics of media, with an audacious plan to raise $25 million a year made up of $50 donations from half a million people around the world. Money from business, advertisers and government will be prohibited. The creator of this is Paul Jay, who was a former excutive producer of CBC Newsworld's debate program "CounterSpin".

According to the article, IWTNews is aiming to get its own digital TV channels in Canada, the U.S. and elsewhere. Programming will also be offered at their web site. The article says that Link TV will carry IWT programming. "ensuring that 25 million U.S. home will have access to IWT shows".

Here's one interesting statement in the article that really caught my eye:


...They would use the Internet -- which allows millions of people to band together – to raise the money. Jay has brought on board key strategists from the Howard Dean presidential campaign who were astonishingly successful in raising millions of dollars in small amounts over the Internet. The article doesn't really state if they are former or current strategists... but whoever they are, they want that expertise of fundraising over the internet to help them get started. The article lists a pretty impressive list of who's who on the advisory committee of IWT: The 98-member IWT advisory committee reads like a who’s who of progressive left activism and journalism, especially from the US. The list includes Lewis Lapham of Harper’s Magazine, Gore Vidal, Jeff Cohen, Laura Flanders and Janine Jackson from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, Amy Goodman of Democracy Now, and Janeane Garofalo of Air America."-from the post on Kos, in the diaries. Former Dean folks who are named include Paul Maslin, Nicco Mele and Stephanie Schriock.