When Current TV was founded in 2005 by Vice President Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, it was meant to be the social media network. Viewers would contribute content, and even design ads. Five years later, and that idea has still failed to gain traction.

Now Current, with the guidance of former MTV programming chief Brian Graden and former MSNBC host Keith Olbermann, hopes to reinvent itself as a younger-skewing non-fiction network. One part MSNBC, one part Discovery Channel, with a little bit of MTV thrown in for good measure.

This morning Current held a preview of its “Upfront” presentation to advertisers at the Paley Center for Media in New York, and TVNewser was there as Gore, Hyatt, Graden and Current CEO Mark Rosenthal previewed the network’s upcoming programming slate.

There seem to be two lineups in development: the first is a news and political lineup, led by Olbermann, as well as the network’s well-received documentary series “Vanguard.” Olbermann was top of mind at the breakfast, with Gore calling him “one of America’s great provocateurs” while Hyatt was even more effusive, saying of Olbermann:

Read more

> Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson will appear in an exclusive interview tomorrow on Bloomberg during the NoonET hour. He’ll be asked about the latest jobs report, the state of the economy and his legacy.

> Tonight’s installment in BBC World News America’s “Notes to Obama” series comes from Univision anchor Jorge Ramos. The segment reminds President-elect Obama of his promises to Latino voters during the campaign.

> CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric will host the annual Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Awards for excellent in broadcast journalistm on January 22. She’ll be joined by NBC’s Hoda Kotb and Ira Glass to present the awards.