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

The webcast did not get off to an auspicious start -- the overloaded server crashed on the first day. Since then, the staff has worked out many of the technical kinks, but the program still has the feel of a low-budget radio show. The three co-hosts sit around a dark wood conference table wearing unwieldy headsets, speaking into large microphones that block much of their faces. The rest of the sparse set consists of a bookcase and a television screen with a brightly colored "The Young Turks" logo.

Pike spends most of the show staring at a laptop, a venti Starbucks cup propped up on the table in front of her as she chats online with viewers. She and her co-hosts banter like siblings, riffing on everything from Jessica Simpson's divorce to the administration's stance on the war in Iraq. The Democratic establishment comes in for a large share of abuse, as well, as they sarcastically deride the party's leadership.

"Sometimes we may seem a little rough around the edges, but I don't think we ever seem canned," Mankiewicz says. "There is a genuine quality I think that will enable us to break through."

Of course, what it means to break through in the crowded world of Internet programming remains to be seen. "The challenge is that it is difficult to cut through the din," Greenwald says.

Uygur says he doesn't hold out hope that a program like "The Young Turks" could ever go head to head with a broadcast or cable show.

Rather, he says, "I think the Internet is going to be seen as a talent pool. In the past, you had to tour the country's comedy clubs or watch local news tapes. Now, you can look online to see what has already worked in a really, really tough environment. On the Internet you don't start with a lead-in of 'CSI.' You start with a lead-in of zero -- flat zero."

Despite that, "The Young Turks" generated substantial buzz in the blogosphere in January when the show streamed live for 99 hours straight as the hosts urged the Democrats to filibuster Samuel A. Alito Jr.'s nomination to the Supreme Court. They were bolstered by other liberal talk show hosts like Air America's Thom Hartmann and John Amatos of the website Crooks and Liars, who pitched in for stints so they could get some sleep. When a peak of 25,000 viewers tuned in, crashing the server, other websites donated server space to keep the show online.

After that, Uygur says, he began to truly grasp freedom afforded by a technology that comes with no time limits or content restrictions. In February, "The Young Turks" was one of the only U.S media outlets to show viewers new photos of American soldiers mistreating detainees at Abu Ghraib prison in 2003 that had been obtained by Australian television. Next, they're thinking about offering news updates throughout the day and shooting their own stories outside of the studio.

"This is wide open," Uygur says. "We can do anything we dream of."