Al Gore part of effort to start cable news net

Former Vice President Al Gore and a partner plan to launch a 24-hour cable news network aimed at 18- to 34-year-old viewers.

The yet-to-be-named network will feature “irreverent and bold” news and public-affairs programming, Gore said, but it “isn’t going to be a liberal network, a Democratic network or a political network.”

Gore and entrepreneur Joel Hyatt bought Newsworld International, a 24-hour digital network, from Vivendi Universal and are expected to relocate it to San Francisco.

Cronkite coming to MTV

Age 87 might seem a bit old for MTV, but former “CBS Evening News” anchorman Walter Cronkite will host a special on employment issues facing young adults that will air May 25.

“With college graduation approaching and millions of young adults looking for work, we felt that it was important to put this issue in perspective for the MTV audience,” said Dave Sirulnick, MTV’s executive vice president of news and production. “The presence of Walter Cronkite in the special will add gravitas and a historical perspective to this complex issue.”

On the special, “MTV Choose or Lose: Work It,” the network will follow five young adults as they compete for one entry-level position. Through it, Cronkite will help explain such issues as underemployment, outsourcing and the growth of temp jobs.