Google CEO Eric Schmidt to Host a TV Show? Not Big Brother 2

Outgoing Google CEO Eric Schmidt to host a talk show? That is the half-substantiated rumor of the day concerning the business magnate who made headlines this week for his (other) upcoming career move - as he prepares to hand the CEO reins to Google co-founder Larry Page this spring.

Today, another surprise, if true: Schmidt has been pursuing a career in television for over a year, according the the New York Post.

But "The Big Brother Hour with Eric Schmidt" -per se - remains in the aspirational stage. The Post article states that Schmidt has been consulting with CNN's executive producer Parker Spitzer on "developing a show featuring himself (Schmidt) as host." The two men met during one of Schmidt's guest appearance on "Fareed Zakaria GPS."

Yet there is bad news for the world's most famous aspiring television personality. A CNN insider who spoke with The New York Post had two particularly notable words to say about a pilot done of Schmidt as a TV host: "complete disaster."

For some TV fans, it may hard to imagine one of the richest, most successful people on the planet - liked or not - taking an interest in this increasingly vintage media format. It is not without precedent, though: think Donald Trump, for instance.

Then there is former Microsoft co-founder and chairman Bill Gates, now nicknamed the Benevolent Big Brother. Rather than hosting a TV show, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have used their clout to "help develop TV scripts, inserting positive messages about disease prevention and surgical safety into shows like 'ER,' 'Law & Order: SVU' and 'Private Practice,' according to NBC New York.

Gates' influence in TV doesn't end there, but author Jere Hester makes a sobering point at the end: "Those with less benevolent agendas than the Gates Foundation could use the power of pop culture to surreptitiously push political or religious causes."

Not to say that Schmidt would be less than ethical should he become a TV talk show host, but there are probably less than 10 people over the age of 18 in the U.S. who haven't at one point associated the words "anti-trust" and "privacy laws" with Google and its Silicon Valley royalty.

In an informal Huffington Post reader poll, viewers were asked "Would you watch a talk show hosted by Eric Schmidt?" Currently, over 65 percent of readers responded "No."

It is curious how TV fits along Schmidt's plans in focusing on "deals," "partnerships," "relationships," "government outreach," and "thought leadership" as the future Google executive chairman.

As an aside, while Schmidt may be able to buy his way into TV -- if so inclined -- no amount of influence or stock certificates will fill the void Oprah leaves her fans when she leaves her 25-year program in September. 2012 indeed may prove to be a turbulent year for television and its viewers.

Sources:
http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/archive/Bill-Gates-TVs-Benevolent-Big-Brother.html
http://www.nypost.com/p/pagesix/google_schmidt_eyeing_tv_ezjyKCdWXAaApZH4hp24zM
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/24/outgoing-google-ceo-eric-_n_813035.html