2.1
January 26, 2009

Think Big, GOOD: Talk Show Like You Give a Damn.

On December 31st, the last ecopaper issue of elephant journal sold off the last newstands around the US. A few weeks later, Plenty, the leading ‘green’ magazine, went kaput. And then there was one.

One print mag that can take it into the endzone. Ben Goldhirsch’s GOOD. Of course, many magazines are great. But few are (mission-) driven to spread the green, lifestyle, social activism gospel in a hip, fun, not-half-as-holy-as-thou manner. So while elephantjournal.com marches on, building our traffic 20% a month on average, GOOD is already in a position—with its videos, magazine, daily blog, deep pockets and connections to put together a real nightly talk show on a real, old-fashioned TV channel. A mainstream talk show would reach millions of Americans each night—and in so doing would do for sustainability, conscious consumerism, yoga and non-new-agey spirituality, nonviolent activism…what Jon Stewart has done for politics. Make it accessible to those who thought they didn’t give a damn.

Good Magazine‘s latest video series is cute, and stylish, and full of vital info on what’s going on with our world. Too bad they’re also just on youtube, where the sum total of all their videos, ever, might equal half of the viewership of one night of Jon Stewart, Jay Leno, Rick Mercer, Jimmy Kimmel, Conan, Moyers, Rose, Letterman or Ferguson. Why can’t the charming, smart, ambitious zillionaire Mr. Do-Goodhirsch make a few calls to a few bigwigs who want to corner the emerging green/LOHAS market, and get a green/political/social activism talk show on Planet Green or some hungry cable channel? Or why can’t Arianna Huffington, with her kajillions of views each day, stop inching toward selling her power and focus on finishing the job of changing the world? Want to change the world? Media, as Lester Brown in our recent interview, is the key. Not ‘a’ key. ‘The.’ So, Arianna: why not feature a daily video talk show in a corner of your home page? Isn’t video a major driver of internet traffic—and isn’t daily, original video content the one thing Huffington Post isn’t acing, thus far?

Won’t someone create a show that can get the good word out re LOHAS [the female-driven demographic known as Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability] in a fun, yet fundamentally serious manner? Do Stewart and Colbert have to do all the heavy lifting around here? Can’t someone with big vision, deep pockets and innumerable connections grab the brass ring and get some TV and/or video content on a platform that’ll entrance the masses with ‘the mindful life’?!

God knows we need it, and we’re running out of time.

Below is the latest vid from Good—stylish, cool, full of good info, but slightly boring if you have a severe case of ADHD (as does most of the iPhone/Blackberry/IM’ed US). Raking in say 20 to 40,000 views (the average Good video), Good’s vids won’t change much of anything compared with great guests and music on a fun talk show, five nights a week. Yeah, we’re trying, but we don’t even have a publicist or agent, let alone the ability to snap our fingers and make a big-platform talk show rise out of our 5280-elevation thin air.

So it’s up to you, Ben. Arianna. RedfordSimran. Sara. Olivia. SROGlatzer. Graham. Step forward.

And—for the benefit of all sentient beings and our planet—let’s make some big/good things happen.

 

 

 

cheap to produce free bands and guests whereas elsewhere speakers bands might charge 50,000 to business school cheaper to produce than reality tv immaterial if me or someone

Read 12 Comments and Reply
X

Read 12 comments and reply

Reply to Adriane cancel

Top Contributors Latest

Waylon Lewis  |  Contribution: 1,436,485