Tech | June 30, 2009 | 144 comments

Bring Current News and Vicky BACK TO CURRENT TV!

source: http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/bringvickyback

Image
DeliaTheArtist
We want the Hourly Current News Program with our lovely Robot Voice, Vicky, BACK on TV.

This is clear in every single post regarding the Current Community. It always gets brought up - Why no more hourly news? Why don't we see the users on TV as much anymore? It was awesome, Vicky was awesome, and we want them back - is Current Media for the people or will you dismiss the voice of your demographic?

I'm trying to get 1,000 signatures. I have no guarantee that Current will listen and deviate from whatever plans they may have, but you never know if you don't try!

Sign at the link!
  1. groups:
    Community,   Tech,   Current Tonight
  2. tags:
    News,  Not News,  Current TV,  Tech,  8 more
  3. recommended by:
    pjacobs51,
    DeliaTheArtist,
    eldamon
  4.     
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144 comments // Bring Current News and Vicky BACK TO CURRENT TV!

  • Brunothebear
  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  

    • The best thing about Current as a concept was the ultra-rapid turnaround between an online community and 'real world' TV coverage. There was a *point* to voting up or down items and there was a reason to comment on articles. These now seem to be relatively pointless activities.

      Looking back, there was a good stretch where flicking on "mainstream" news gave you the headlines, and then a trip over to Current gave the actual stories thanks to a community effort to collate the sources used by major media outlets in their raw state, together with usually coherent and insightful comment.

      With a bit of luck, you'd get the cherished email and see your bit on TV.

      Nowadays however that seems to be gone - the place is chock full of twaddle about Britney Spears lifting Michael Jackson's dead corpse with her vagina while gargling Lady Gaga's cow urine smoothie.

      The free marketplace of ideas has been replaced by walmartesque Yahoo News in drag.

    • 2 years ago
  • artemis6
  • jubal
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • Fading_Chaos
  • EclecticBadger
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • ooohexxxplode
  • stevieuk
    • 0
      stevieuk  

    • am all for up to date news and as for vicky well am sorry i must be too new to current cause don't know about this one however everyone else thinks it should return so i will sign for you ''good luck''

    • 2 years ago
  • metalcookiesxy70
    • 0
      metalcookiesxy70  

    • I'm still pretty suprised that there are still respones even, after days of this post, I really thought this post was going to die, or at least get lost.....

    • 2 years ago
  • jfrogge
  • lvp
  • artist_speaks_out
  • escarondito
  • furio15
    • 0
      furio15  

    • We want Vicky, It was one of the things that made me watch Current and log in everyday, after they took her out I've barely logged in anymore

    • 2 years ago
  • Krisard
    • 0
      Krisard  

    • No hourly news? Is current selling out? I'm living in Bangkok so I can't see the news anymore but I want it when I get back. I'm not liking these new adds on the webpages either.

    • 2 years ago
  • Stradius
  • Crossslash_Manasa
  • SushiBandit
  • azimuth79
  • wanamoka
    • 0
      wanamoka  

    • And whats up with the super duper someone who is always moving posts to the top because they think its newsworthy? I thought that was supposed to be reader votes.

    • 2 years ago
  • lvp
  • wanamoka
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  

    • At least it is an update with some reassurances that the problem is being addressed.

      "Vicky how to speak took a lot of human hand holding. We’ll be pulling more stories at a time, and we’ll be attempting to stick to a much faster-paced turnaround. This means, more community submissions on TV."

      I've had experiences with trying to get text to speech synthesizers to work for voice overs in my animation so I know how hard it is to get them to sound intelligible and speak clearly enough to be understood. Vicky was cute and all but that wasn't the crux of the issue.

      "It’s certainly taken longer than we’ve hoped, but bringing back community-submitted stories to TV is definitely on our (long) list of things to do — we’ve got some serious work to do to get things running smoothly."

      That is what we have been waiting for all these months

      "We have a PhD on staff named DrGary who will be working on a vastly improved classifier and channel-based scoring system, but this is pretty involved work.”

      I guess there is no rushing PhDs while they are attempting to pile it higher and deeper since as they say "Trouble rather the tiger in his lair than the sage amongst his books for to you kingdoms and their armies are mighty and enduring, but to him they are but toys of the moment to be overturned by the flicking of a finger." and he'll get the work done when he is ready, not when the members want it on their schedule.

      "Nothing has been finalized, but we’ll let you know as things develop"

      I hope so since it is what makes Current what it is to have member participation.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • mario_a
    • 0
      mario_a  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      no problem @DeliaTheArtist. at the end of the day we're all sad that Vicky won't return. however, bringing a great deal more of you're guys' submissions and content to TV feels like the right move.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
    • 0
      jubal  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      I would like to see a link from the profile page to what exactly did make it on to TV.

      If not for Real Player Downloads, I would not have a copy of anything that got picked in the past. At least I have those downloads to share with friends.

    • 2 years ago
  • mario_a
    • 0
      mario_a  
    • Image

    • hey current community folks,

      thank for all of the comments! we are definitely hard at work on bringing community submitted stories back to Current TV. i've posted a blog about this, please take a look!

      p.s. in the meantime, if you want to get your story on TV, check out Current Tonight. it's a daily news round up comprised of stories submitted to Current.com. check it out here (http://current.com/current-tonight/), tag your stories "Current Tonight" and follow them on Twitter (http://twitter.com/CurrentTonight).

    • 2 years ago
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • metalcookiesxy70
    • 0
      metalcookiesxy70  

    • Hm?

      No direct responses from the staff about this, and its been a pretty long time, well, I'm not going to doubt, just going to stay upon this post, for an extended time...!!

      We cannot just let this post die...(or maybe I'll just start my own then...Alright fine...)

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • derk
  • asherp
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  

    • Thanks guys and make sure you actually follow the link and sign the petition if you want her back! I have 79 signatures but trying to reach 1000!

    • 2 years ago
  • Mikeysfake1
  • hollowman218
    • 0
      hollowman218  

    • Vicky is the one who inspired me to join current.com. i only got to see current when I visited my brother in DC, and once I saw that cool robot give user chosen news every hour inbetween awesome shows, i KNEW i wanted to be a contributer, a part of the current community.

    • 2 years ago
  • estee_arie
  • Robroy1
    • 0
      Robroy1  

    • Gee, I voted for this yesterday, I thought we had enough support to do it already, so now I voted twice, do it already.

    • 2 years ago
  • Dpm
  • Allorno1
  • NotCaleb
  • UrbanGypsy
  • ogundy
  • SushiBandit
  • singrrr
  • Mr_Green_Khalid
  • bishopobispo
  • ii386
    • 0
      ii386  

    • I agree! I feel like the site is kind of lagging without it. especially in the Uploads section. That section is clogged with crappy comedy and rarely videos will move around. Getting comments picked for TV, voting for stories to get on air, and voting for pods to make it on TV is what makes current awesome. I miss the old features!

    • 2 years ago
  • NotCaleb
  • Plarom
    • 0
      Plarom  

    • Hell yes. I always wondered why they got rid of Vicky in the first place. Considering Current is so involved with its community, I'm surprised they didn't ask us how we felt about it!

    • 2 years ago
  • huntre
  • 24French
    • 0
      24French  

    • I love the pods, but i also love Current showing the 'current' news of the day somehow. I have to admit I'm not attached to Vicky, though. Top of the hour updates by a VJ would be fine with me. Or even something like the top 10 web searches. Music instead of a virtual robot voice would be in keeping with Current style and mark it apart from uni-channel style.

    • 2 years ago
  • heatherpierce
  • PajamaDan
    • 0
      PajamaDan  

    • Word 'em up. I miss our CurrentTV of yore.
      The new programming and 1/2 hour shows are killer,... but we need Vicky back! Oh how I miss her.
      "Puh-jah-madan" spoken by a supercomputer was music to my ears.

      BRING IT BACK!

    • 2 years ago
  • Robroy1
  • NotCaleb
  • NotCaleb
  • ashcatash
  • Snuff99
  • Xion
  • EclecticBadger
  • simplecj
  • bansheewail
  • jaydofct
  • titan50
  • bo6us
  • earrachanam
    • 0
      earrachanam  

    • Signed!! I was trying for the longest time to get an article featured and then they took Vicky away....made me sad...I wanted to hear her try and say my username!!

    • 2 years ago
  • stopnoise
    • 0
      stopnoise  

    • Yes I do like the Vick News. I only have a problem with the "popular and new" x "The important and fundamental" issues that compete in the format. The vote system here can be lobbied and manipulated by unknown sources that can care less about important issues that affects human life making this medium not better than the corporate medium. There is not a really deep discussion on important issues neither people qualify themselves to pursue these issues so everything just become a Las Vegas Casino.

    • 2 years ago
  • KaT_Trina
  • jay_ct
    • 0
      jay_ct  

    • I don't know how that would work with the new web format but I don't like that either.

      Signed

      Bring back robot tv news!

    • 2 years ago
  • Nettle
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  

    • Thanks for the positive support! I hope this post also proves some points to a few of you who have felt like voting doesn't matter anymore and that the community voice goes unheard, whether or not the petition works. You all voted this to the top of the page and it got attention with no editor interventions. Current WANTS to hear from the community, they want user inclusion, they want us to have our voice heard. I really do think that.

    • 2 years ago
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      "Current WANTS to hear from the community, they want user inclusion, they want us to have our voice heard." from my experience that is true, but that is different from them actually doing something about it.

      They want interaction but that doesn't mean they will make any decision that conflict with maximizing profits. Many people complained about that McDonald's ad campaign but nothing was done about it.

      They want the involvement to futher their ratings but the "voice" goes no farther than that.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      That only means the contract expired not a change in policy.

      I have seen other things advertised in the same policy, so just because people were not offended is just a matter of taste.

      I personally didn't mind any of the ads including McDonalds, the point I was making was that the user outcry was being ignored in favor of business priorities.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      Well I don't really know that for sure; if the contract with McD's expired, and they realize how badly it went over, the only way we will know if our voice made a difference or not is to see what kind of advertising sponsors they continue to pick up. (Lately I've just seem google ads that randomly pick something based on what the post is about.) If they do business with McD's again (or say, WalMart or another sketchy biz) we will know they don't give a fuck. If they don't and are more careful in picking their advertising partners, maybe we did have something to do with that.

    • 2 years ago
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      Even from a business standpoint if there was a negative atmosphere for the McDonalds ads then there would be a lot less chance for increased sales fram the ads so it would be a waste of money to continue them or repeat them if they weren't going to get a positive response to them, they would just try a different market for better results.

      So the reason might be tied to audience reaction but only indirectly in the form of lack of sales.

      But that doesn't really help in this situation since if you noticed they were pretty evasive when asked about the reasons that they discontinued the hourly news updates and taking Vicky away.

      If the reasons was it took too much time away from sponsors and wasn't getting enough ratings then also from a business standpoint they aren't going to bring it back unless it can be shown that their is a profit in it.

      So the user support isn't going to help if it is shown that it hurts their idea of the bottom line.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
    • 0
      DeliaTheArtist  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      But WE are their bottom line; we are the Current.com users, the Current TV watchers. We are either going to contribute or not, to watch or not, to pay attention to their ads or not. By giving them a direct line to what we think, we increase the chances that they will market to us in a positive and effective way.

    • 2 years ago
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      Not directly, the sponsors are. And it is the same problem all the other communties have, not all of us are going to cooperate to counter their decisions.

      I've seen it happen in plenty of places online.

      They might lose a few of the more vociferous members but that has happened before like the other times in the last couple years that Current has made major changes.

      They were replaced by other new people to watch the ads, contribute and consume what they are selling. They count on that so it doesn't bother them that a percentage "voices" disatisfaction because there are plenty more were they came from.

      You're a fairly popular member so you might be able to organize a sizable segment of the users here, but that is only relative to how much you can get them to cooperate and affect the finances of the sponsors which is a lot harder to get people to do something substantial than just agree with you.

      Even though I think Jan is a bit narrowly focused and over zealous, I do applaud her efforts and dedication to her causes. I thought that planting trees idea she had was a good one.

      But if dedicated effort was all it took then climate change would be solved already, it is the same situation here.

    • 2 years ago
  • Argon18
    • 0
      Argon18  
    • Image
    • DeliaTheArtist:

      As I mentioned, I have seen the same circumstances happen in other places. Have you ever heard of the art site called Renderosity?

      I was a big contributor there when I was learning how to do art with Poser and things were fine for a while but a few years ago some trouble developed with some of the members there complaining that 3D models of nude fairies fell under the category of child pornography.

      It seemed very strange to me that anyone could classify a bunch of mathmatical faces, vertices and points to be children and even suggestions to provide any evidence of their age fell on deaf ears when the outrage grew to threats of prosecution for distributing child pornography

      So the site admins voted with their wallets and decreed to CYA by policing the uploading of any art "that looked underage" by their interpretation.

      That wasn't enough for the prudish among the members to force their opinions onto the other members. There was a filter in the viewing settings of the galleries so that people were offended by nudity didn't have to see it.

      That wasn't enough for them since they were offended that anyone could see it so they threatened them with financial ruin by getting PayPal to freeze all the accounts of the transactions of the store of the site for selling "adult items" if they didn't change the rules of the galleries so that no nudity in the thumbnails could be seen at all.

      After arguing and debating about both the subjects at length with others that supported the ideas of freedom of expression, it didn't make any difference to the sponsors fear of losing profits they made from the site.

      A bunch of people that had made the site popular and put a lot of time and effort into showing their art there left and they were replaced by others that continued to buy stuff from the site so that nothing was changed.

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
  • Argon18
  • Ionstorm2040
  • bansheewail
    • 0
      bansheewail  

    • I'm 100% with you. I remember when voting for the content of an article meant something. I remember when Current was actually current. They shoudl change the name to Weekly-Filtered-Producer Approved TV.

      I don't have all day to wait to see my name in lights, dammit! I want to have my cyber-ego stroked every hour on the hour!!! Vicki RULES!!

      Without OUR participation and inclusion, Current is just Mtv with a sprinkling of CNN on top; the bastard child of YouTube.

    • 2 years ago
  • DeliaTheArtist
  • Argon18
  • metalcookiesxy70
  • mario_a
    • 0
      mario_a  
    • bansheewail:

      i agree that the community picks to TV concept is a differentiating factor for current.com, which is why we are working so hard to bring it back in a meaningful way.

      just want to clear something up, despite the name "current89" is not staff. you can recognize staff by the four green bars next to our avatars.

      thanks,
      mario

      online community

    • 2 years ago
  • jubal
  • numinant
  • KefKef
  • VynalFrontier
    • 0
      VynalFrontier  

    • yes please!!!!! i have lost alot of interest ever since vicky the robot and current news left. even the format change.....

      Bring her back and bring me back !!!

    • 2 years ago
  • jesuswho
  • Panzer_Tanzler
  • Panzer_Tanzler
  • rockstarmillionaire
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