Britain's Gordon Brown turns to online TV in search of publicity

Aug 7, 2008, 11:42 GMT

London - British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is hoping to shore up his flagging political fortunes by offering videos of his speeches and media appearances on his office's own TV channel, to be called Number10TV.

The new online channel, accessible via the website of 10, Downing Street, the seat of the British government, will offer 'exclusive video of the prime minister's speeches, press conferences, media appearances and news archives,' according to the company providing the technology.

The initiative fits in with Brown's broader strategy of trying to reverse the sharp fall in his poll ratings by reaching out to the public.

Brown will hold his cabinet's first official meeting next month in the West Midlands in an effort to show he is sensitive to voters' anxieties over issues such as the economy and crime.

However, opinion pollsters say it is Brown's lack of charisma that has propelled the steep downward turn in his popularity - and that of his Labour government - since he took power just over a year ago.

Attempts last year to convey the Labour vision of government on YouTube, the video-sharing website, have failed to woo the masses, reports have shown.

A Labour clip hailing the government's minimum wage policy was viewed fewer than 420 times, compared with a six-figure audience for pop star Jordan Sparks, the Financial Times said Thursday.