Cenk from the Young Turk Is Moving On the Way Up
I am a fan of the Young Turks and the LA Times did an expose of him. Here is an excerpt from the article
When I ask the Young Turk what stands as competition for his Internet video show on politics, he pauses for a beat.
"Sh," he replies. "I just don't see them yet, thank God. The competition will come at some point and we don't want to be overconfident. But at the same time, right now, we have huge market dominance."
While many others have talked about new media forms and breaking down barriers, the self-styled Young Turk, a.k.a. Cenk Uygur, has administered his own wrecking ball. His Internet video program, "The Young Turks," has become strong enough to power a small but burgeoning network of Web programs. That program's reach has given him the credibility to jump to a spot as a fill-in host on a more traditional platform, cable station MSNBC.
Uygur (his full name is pronounced Jenk U-gurr) has reached the enviable place where he wants, but does not need, expanded air time on cable television. He has shown he can match, and even outdraw, the more traditional cable television hosts he has been replacing. But he attracts enough acclaim and cash via the Web and YouTube channels he founded that he says even a full-time gig on TV would not draw him away from his new-media roots.
It's tempting to view Uygur as the prototype for a new generation of political commentators, who hone their craft with blogs and Web videos and then transition to older platforms. Political commentator and comedian Tina Dupuy calls Uygur "the Tila Tequila of political talk-show hosts." Others, no doubt, will follow.
But unlike the one-video wonders who burst on the pop music scene, it's likely that the future political talkers in the Uygur mode will make their bones more gradually. It takes more than one catchy lyric to build the world view, credibility and tone that win audiences in the long
We all know that Cenk has talent. However, what is best time to place Cenk on MSNBC.
It is easy. Eliminate Chris's Matthew's show that runs at 2:00 PM PST/5:00 EST and put Cenk's show in place of Hardball. Or even better, put Cenk on at 4:00 PM PST/7:00 EST and make him have a larger audience. I think that Hardball is a good show, but I think that Cenk has more charisma and would do a better job with a prime-time slot.