Edinburgh, Scotland (AHN) - Former Vice President Al Gore said Sunday that he considers the ever-tightening political and economic control of the media as a major threat to democracy.
Gore believes that his "interactive" television channel Current TV has encouraged the kind of democratic dialogue that is prominent online but is increasingly rare on TV.
Talking to an audience at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, Gore said, "Democracy is under attack. Democracy as a system for self-governance is facing more serious challenges now than it has faced for a long time."
"Democracy is a conversation, and the most important role of the media is to facilitate that conversation of democracy. Now the conversation is more controlled, it is more centralized," Gore added.
The AP quotes Gore as saying that in many countries, media control was being consolidated in the hands of a few businesspeople or politicians. In Italy for example much of the media is owned by former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi.
While in Russia, President Vladimir Putin has control over television, and in South Africa, Gore said, dissent "is disappearing, and free expression is under attack."
In the United States "the only thing that matters in American politics now is having enough money to put 30-second commercials on the air often enough to convince the voters to elect you or re-elect you," he said. "The person who has the most money to run the most ads usually wins."
The former Vice President lost the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. His own television network Current TV was launched last year amid much skepticism but soon won the audience.
Denying speculation about his White House 2008 run, Gore said, "I don't have any plans to be a candidate, I don't expect to be a candidate. I really do not expect ever to be a candidate again."
I hope Gore runs in 2008. He has my vote.