More Niche: FORA

The theme of the day I guess, this one from Will Hearst.

NewTeeVee:

"Fora is being promoted as “the thinking person’s YouTube,” and will feature wonky political and cultural content from partners like C-Span and Cody’s Books. Current popular programs include discussions with author Neil Gaiman, former HP CEO Carly Fiorina and, my favorite, schlocky screenwriter Joe Eszterhaus. I’m not such a fan of the pop-up player window, but do like the web-specific features like discussion forums, relevant links, transcripts and (eventually) community tagging."

From FORA:

"FORA delivers discourse, discussions and debates on the world's most interesting political, social and cultural issues, and enables viewers to join the conversation. It provides deep, unfiltered content, tools for self-expression and a place for the interactive community to gather online."

From FT:

"Fora, which is backed by William R Hearst III, scion of the West Coast publishing family and a partner at Kleiner Perkins, has yet to receive its first round of VC funding. But it has struck content deals with a host of mostly non-profit institutions, including London's Chatham House, the Council on Foreign Relations, and yes, C-SPAN.

Mr Gruber acknolwedges that Fora's more serious programming isn't the usual internet fare, or, as he describes it, "19 year-old girls running up a hill in wet t-shirts being tackled by guys who then go skateboarding." It is still early days, but Fora could well prove compelling for journalist, policymakers, academics and other public affairs geeks that inhabit the 'long tail' of internet users."

Will Hearst:

"William R. Hearst III, Principal Investor

Will Hearst currently serves on the boards of Akimbo, Applied Minds, Juniper Networks, Oblix, OnFiber, and RGB Networks. In addition to his portfolio company boards, he is also a director of the Hearst Corporation and Hearst-Argyle Television. Hearst is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a trustee of: The Hearst Foundation, Carnegie Institution of Washington, Mathematical Sciences Research Institute, California Academy of Sciences, and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Will Hearst was Editor and Publisher of the San Francisco Examiner from 1984 until 1995. He is a 1972 graduate of Harvard University, holding an AB degree in Mathematics."