JAIMIE FRANKLIN
News Assistant
Grazidio Business school alumnus Brian Gruber has created a new niche of online video media. FORA.tv was launched last week, and has already been hailed by some as the YouTube for intellectuals.
The site features thousands of video presentations by intellectuals, politicians, activists, and other leaders speaking on important issues to the global community.
Quantum physicist Dr. Leonard Susskind’s recent speech on the modern string theory and Islam expert Oliver Roy on Muslims in the West are just two examples of the scholarly media available for free on the site.
Fora, the plural of forum, was created with the “idea that everywhere, everyday, there are smart, interesting, provocative people speaking in public,” founder and CEO Gruber said. “It’s time to think about how TV can be used to bring great ideas and interesting people in a way not packaged as entertainment.”
As a comparison, Gruber cited the example of ancient Roman forums in which political and philosophical leaders spoke publicly and were challenged by society.
“We have lost that in our culture,” he said. “Public discourse has been degraded.”
A unique feature of the site is its simplicity. Chapters separate sections of each video and many speeches have synchronized transcription that automatically scrolls at the side of the screen.
Viewers can use this feature to type in keywords, sending them directly to the moment in the video where the word is mentioned. Blogs, profiles on featured speakers, and discussion boards are also available.
Gruber graduated from Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management in 1982 and received a master’s degree in broadcast management. He was born and raised in Queens, where he received his undergraduate degree at Queens College, City University of New York.
One of the main factors in his decision to attend Pepperdine was that it was on the West Coast and at the time, had a new and developing communication program.
“Pepperdine was small enough that I could get attention from professors,” he said. “There was a good grounding in management and communication classes in theory and hands on experience…. The key value I learned there was a love for the media and a passion to do something different and worthwhile.”
Only two years after receiving his Pepperdine diploma, Gruber became the first marketing director of C-SPAN, where “he built its affiliate sales and marketing organization, launching C-SPAN II with the largest subscriber base ever for a cable network at launch,” according to the FORA Web site. He then accepted a position as director of marketing for News Corp’s FOXTEL, where he worked closely with a major cable television brand in Australia, bringing it to number one in subscriptions.
Although Gruber believes some of his success is luck, he said that the key to success is “deep experience in a certain area and the realization that when you leave school you don’t know anything that has innate value to an employer.”
Gruber’s advice to Pepperdine students seeking success after graduation: “Spend every year of your life creating experiences that will get you to where you want to be.”
02-08-2007
