(Credit: Gage Skidmore)
After his bid for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination fell short, former Texas congressman Ron Paul is dipping his toe into independent media broadcasting.
Simply titled, The Ron Paul Channel, the tagline for the project is, "Turn Off Your TV. Turn On the Truth."
Announced on the former congressman's Facebook page over the weekend, the introduction was:
"FINALLY a media network dedicated to liberty, peace, prosperity, and the celebration of the values that you and I share."
The network is set to debut later this summer, likely in August. People can already sign up to subscribe and will receive updates as the network progresses toward its debut.
While a guest on the Peter Schiff Show on Monday, Paul told guest host Tom Woods:
"Today there's a tremendous opportunity on the internet - it was proven during our campaign. . . . Young people use the internet and hand-held devices. They don't sit and watch TV and turn the programs on at seven o'clock to watch us like that - so I thought the technology was there. The country is ripe for the continuation of this revolution."We've been planning this for several months - to come up with something where we can do it on a routine basis on the internet and have a very, very well-designed program to bring as many people as we can together to promote these views that are being totally ignored either by our government or our professors or our media."
On the type of programming it will run, Paul said it will include broadening the range of topics for discourse:
"There's going to be news. . . . I'd like to come up with an item - at least one item of news that's available in various ways with friends and others I can get, but would never be shown - it might be out there, but nobody's ever going to talk about it."
This endeavor is also in line with Paul's history of speaking directly to his people and potential supporters. Long shut out and marginalized by more established media outlets, Paul had huge support for his agenda over the internet. This use of the internet also led Paul to gain a substantial following among young people.
Although he did not win any states during the 2012 presidential nominating process, one of Paul's most enthusiastic constituencies was young people. Half of the youth vote went for Paul in the first two voting states, Iowa and New Hampshire, in 2012. However, once it became clear he would not win the nomination, Paul's share of the youth vote began dwindling. Yet, with fewer younger people receiving news from traditional media outlets, and instead opting for the internet, the Ron Paul Channel may further tap into that demographic.
Ron Paul's retirement from Congress has hardly been quiet. In addition to the new channel, Paul has sponsored a home schooling curriculum and a foreign policy think tank that bear his name.