“We live it, eat it and breathe it. We’ve talked about politics with everyone, everywhere, and the more we did, the more we realized there are a lot of people … who actually care about important issues,” co-founders Zev Suissa and Michael Torres wrote in introducing themselves on their Web site.
Many Winston Churchill graduates have pursued careers in insurance, medicine, law and business. But graduates Zev Suissa, Rob Blatt and Aaron Saidman have chosen to create a nonpartisan media outlet providing political entertainment and information.
The Political Channel (PCTV, www.politicalchannel.tv), a Web site created by Suissa and Torres in July 2004, hosts a variety of comedy sketches, parodies, talk shows and interviews, as well as updates in factual information, such as the voting decisions of federal officials and their specific biographies.
The outlet is geared toward “proactive, brand-conscious, cause-marketed 18- to 34-year-olds,” Suissa wrotes.
Zev Suissa, co-founder of PCTV, graduated from Churchill in 1993. He is now 29 and lives in Santa Monica, Calif.
“Churchill had so much exposure to D.C., the center of the free world,” Suissa said of the effect Potomac had on his career. “Field trips to the White House, exposure to the Capitol, all increased my affinity for the political.”
Suissa spent his junior and senior years at Churchill in Showstoppers and appeared in the Churchill production of “West Side Story.”
"CHURCHILL HAD a very good music program,” Suissa said, “and being fully involved in these made me really interested in the entertainment industry.”
After attending the University of Delaware, where he majored in psychology and minored in theater, Suissa moved to Los Angeles to pursue his interest in entertainment and politics.
With political comedy shows such as “The Daily Show” with Jon Stewart becoming increasingly popular, Suissa realized that there is demand for politically geared shows. After meeting Michael Torres, who works in political media, in Los Angeles, they began developing the Political Channel.
“I wanted to integrate the important message of politics with today’s society,” Suissa said, “essentially bringing coffee-shop politics to the mainstream.”
Rob Blatt, a longtime friend of Suissa’s, has created a parody of conservatism and “Queer Eye for the Straight Guy” with his PCTV show “Conservative Eye for the Liberal Guy.”
Blatt graduated from Churchill in 1992 and also participated in Showstoppers with Suissa. In addition to entertainment influences from Churchill’s program, Blatt’s classes influenced him to become actively involved in politics.
“The classes I took in world history created a strong influence in my interest in government and world politics,” Blatt said, “I remember debating with my classmates on public policy.”
After graduating from the University of Virginia, Blatt spent four years in the D.C. area becoming heavily involved in the political process. He lobbied for the National Association of Alcoholism, Drug Abuse counselors, and worked for the American College of Cardiology. “It was a natural career interest,” Blatt said.
He moved to Los Angeles after Suissa got Blatt interested in producing political pieces for the new media outlet he was creating. He plans to continue creating episodes for his show, “From the Brain of Riegal and Blatt,” which is on the Political Channel.
“EXPOLORE ANY career option you might be interested in, not just a safe career,” Blatt advised, “and definitely stay in touch with old friends, as you never know what they might be involved in.”
Aaron Saidman is a 1992 Churchill graduate who also worked on several of PCTV’s talk shows and comedy pieces. At Churchill, he was a disc jockey for “Blast from the Past” and also performed in its band.
Saidman is also a longtime friend of Suissa’s, and he moved from New York to Los Angeles to help with the Political Channel’s growing production.
Suissa and Torres are currently looking to bring their Web-based production to a 24-hour channel on cable.
“It’s in its Web site incarnation right now,” co-founder Michael Torres said. “There’s a handful of cable companies where this political channel would be perfect.”
For now, conservative and liberal Americans alike can visit the Political Channel online, taking advantage of its political data, editorial columns, and freelance productions.
Torres and Suissa wrote on their Web site that it is a place where “you can communicate and broaden your political views, empower yourself with information and get proactively involved.”