1. Created by Cable.
Disseminate & Communicate
Offered as Public Service.
The Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network broadcasts on radio, television,
and the internet, with non-stop coverage of government proceedings
of Congress and public affairs programming. The programs aired on
the three C-SPANs are unedited, uncensored, and without commercial
interruption, with only an occasional voice-over to clarify the content or
identify a speaker. It operates independently without advertising
or sponsorship from any private sector or government source.
C-SPAN’s 2008 ‘Road to the White House’ Bus (credit: www.c-span.org)
C -SPAN was conceived of, and created as a cable-industry financed
non-profit network by Brian Lamb, its current chairman and CEO, when
he worked at Cablevision as their Washington, DC Bureau Chief, with seed
funding from Bob Rosencrans, a pioneer in the cable industry.
Owned by the National Cable Satellite Corporation, it operates indepen-
dently without advertising or sponsorship from any private sector or govern-
ment source, and is funded solely through cable subscriber fees. CNN went
on the air in 1979, broadcasting from Congress; C-SPAN2, began in 1986,
broadcasting live from the Senate; C-SPAN radio was added in 1997, and
C-SPAN3 was launched in 2001, broadcasting archival programs as well as
government-related live events – many from Washington Think Tanks such as
the Heritage Foundation and the Brookings Institution.
Viewer loyalty and activism convinced cable companies to keep it on
the air when when it was suggested that the C-Span broadcasts be replaced
with revenue producing channels. Broadcasts are now available via stream-
ing media on the C-SPAN web-site. C-SPAN has evolved now into a national
treasure, representing the epitome of unbiased, uncensored, and direct report-
ing of Congressional hearings, Presidential speeches and press conferences,
and national and international events of interest to the discerning public, with
records available for historical research and analysis.
It was created solely in the public interest, and, because of its non-
partisan support by the cable networks, provides a purely objective means for Jeremy Art, a marketing representative, talks with a tour group on the C-SPAN bus (credit: www.c-span.org)
the concerned citizen – of the US and the world – to monitor national and in-
ternational events which are shaping history. Callers to the radio network often
preface their questions or remarks by stating: “Thank Goodness for C-SPAN.”
The C-SPAN audience is privy to live and archived coverage of press
conferences, hearings, Canadian and British Parliamentary proceedings, as
well as the proceedings of other governments around the world -- dubbed in
English as necessary. There are some government proceedings not yet acces-
sible to C-SPAN coverage; e.g., it cannot provide television broadcasts of the
Supreme Court hearings; but, it does provide coverage of the audio portions;
C-SPAN’s request to cover Congressional Floor Proceedings has not yet been
approved. Always innovative, C-SPAN added its C-SPAN Video Library web-
page in 2007 which will make available -- via free access -- its past programs
with hyper-links to archived Congressional Hearings.
As a tribute to this national treasure, President Bush awarded founder
Brian Lamb with the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the ceremony was broad-
cast on C-SPAN.
www.C-SPAN.org Josh Kurtz, the Politcal Editor of Roll Call is interviewed on C-SPAN (credit: www.c-span.org)
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C-SPAN’s 2008 Election Coverage (credit: www.c-span.org)