Can't get on the network? Get on the Net

But this new medium is increasingly being embraced by broader constituencies as well. In the case of "The Young Turks," the program has attracted a growing number of liberals hungry for a political victory -- and excited about the potential of a technology that offers a low-cost way to rally the troops. For Democrats who have long felt outflanked by the right's heavy presence on talk radio, the Internet program provides a new model of how to get their message out, unfiltered.

"Often in discussions a few years ago, when people were distraught at how conservative the media had become, the conversation often turned to 'We have to buy a network as an alternative,' " says filmmaker Robert Greenwald, who directed "Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price" and is a frequent guest on the show. "But we're seeing today you don't have to do that. There are all these fascinating possibilities out there."

The numbers are small -- an average of 11,000 people tune in every day to the webcast of "The Young Turks," with an estimated 100,000 more listening in on the radio or through audio podcasts, according to the show. But the program has already entered the political zeitgeist, drawing the kind of guests usually found on the broadcast networks' Sunday talk shows.

Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Los Angeles), Rep. Louise M. Slaughter (D-N.Y.) and former Rep. Bob Barr (R-Ga.) have all appeared recently, along with environmentalist Laurie David, Adam Green of MoveOn.org and a host of journalists from the New York Times, Newsweek and the Nation.

Pike, who does all the booking, says she used to have to "twist arms" to persuade politicians to come on the program. Now, congressional candidates from around the country regularly call and ask to be interviewed.

"Sometimes we look at guests on 'Scarborough' " -- MSNBC's "Scarborough Country" -- "and say, 'I think we've out-guested them today,' " says the 38-year-old Mankiewicz.

Rep. Tim Ryan, a 32-year-old Democrat from Ohio, says he's been explaining the concept of "The Young Turks" webcast to his older colleagues and urging them to get on the show.

"This is going to be the equivalent of the talk radio boom of the early '90s," Ryan says. "For us in the progressive movement, being on the cutting edge of this next medium is going to be a real benefit."

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A forerunner