With the official launch of Current TV less than a week away, the press is gearing up to take a look at the new network. The New York Times has a big piece in todays paper..

There are lots of reasons to watch, and more than a few potential pieces of evolution that could be worthwhile. First and foremost, this is the first major new non-fiction network launched in a decade (Oxygen was the last). Lot's has changed in the world in terms of technology, tools, connectivity, and the engagement of the audience. The second thing is that Gore has been a very passionate advocate for user content - kindly crediting UnFiltered as central to the vision of a consumer based content network. The issues and challenges of engaging consumer content have been discussed in this space in the past, but Current has a unique set of challenges, among them the simple fact that Al Gore's participation generates a huge amount of anticipation for the network (a lots of conservatives who will look to every piece of programming as some sort of secret code from the democrats). Gore has said publicly, that this is not a political network, and i believe him. But as the former Democratic Vice President of the United States - the network will have to work hard to convince people of varying political perspectives.

The bottom line is that Current TV will make user-content mainstream, and that's an important step for the evolution of media.