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Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network
C-SPAN logo
Type cable television network
Branding C-SPAN
Country United States
Availability United States,
Cable television
online (via c-span.org)
Founded by Brian Lamb
Owner National Cable Satellite Corporation
Launch date March 19, 1979
Website
c-span.org

C-SPAN (officially, the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) is an American cable television network dedicated to airing non-stop coverage of government proceedings and public affairs programming. A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Brian Patrick Lamb (born October 9, 1941 in Indiana helped found the C-SPAN television channels in the United States in 1979 and has been Chief Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) The United States of America —commonly referred to as the A television network is a distribution network for Television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many Television stations

In addition to C-SPAN Radio and the C-SPAN website, C-SPAN is made up of several television channels:

The bulk of C-SPAN's operations are located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., but they also maintain archives in West Lafayette, Indiana at the Purdue Research Park under the direction of Professor Robert X. Browning. WCSP-FM, C-SPAN Radio, is a Radio station licensed to Washington D The United States House of Representatives is one of the two chambers of the United States Congress; the other is the Senate. The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives For the Canadian specialty channel see BookTelevision Book TV is the collective name for weekend programming about upcoming and Capitol Hill, aside from being a Metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential Neighborhood in Washington D Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D An archive refers to a collection of historical records and also refers to the location in which these records are kept West Lafayette (ˌwɛst ˌlɑːfeɪˈɛt is a city in Tippecanoe County, Indiana, United States, 65 miles (105km northwest of Indianapolis. The State of Indiana ( was the 19th US state admitted into the union Facilities One of the largest university-affiliated high-tech business parks in the United States Purdue Research Park is made up of 52 distinct buildings Robert X Browning is a professor at Purdue University and head of the C-SPAN archives in West Lafayette IN.

Contents

History

Brian Lamb, C-SPAN's chairman and CEO, conceived of C-SPAN while working at Cablevision, a cable industry trade magazine, as their Washington D.C. bureau chief. Brian Patrick Lamb (born October 9, 1941 in Indiana helped found the C-SPAN television channels in the United States in 1979 and has been Chief A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator Cablevision Systems Corporation ( is an American Cable television company Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D C-SPAN was created as a cable-industry financed, non-profit network for televising sessions of the U.S. Congress and other public affairs event and policy discussions. A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage The United States Congress is the bicameral Legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses Bob Rosencrans, a cable industry pioneer, was alone in providing the initial seed funding of $25,000 to start up C-SPAN. It receives no funding from any government source, has no contract with the government, and does not sell sponsorships or advertising. Advertising is a form of Communication that typically attempts to persuade potential Customers to Purchase or to consume more of a particular Brand It strives for neutrality and a lack of bias in its public affairs programming. Objectivity is a significant principle of Journalistic professionalism. Bias is a term used to describe a Tendency or Preference towards a particular perspective, Ideology or result especially when the tendency interferes Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term refers to programming which focuses on matters of Politics and Public policy.

C-SPAN first went on the air on March 19, 1979, broadcasting a speech by then-congressman Al Gore. Events 1279 - A Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. Year 1979 ( MCMLXXIX) was a Common year starting on Monday (link displays the 1979 Gregorian calendar) Albert Arnold Gore Jr (born March 31 1948 is an American environmental Activist, author Businessperson, former Politician, and former C-SPAN2, a spinoff network, covers all live sessions of the U.S. Senate and went on the air on June 2, 1986, with the original channel then focusing on the House. A spin-off (or spinoff) is a new Organization or Entity formed by a split from a larger one such as a Television series based on a pre-existing The United States Senate is the Upper house of the bicameral United States Congress, the Lower house being the House of Representatives Events 455 - The Vandals enter Rome, and plunder the city for two weeks Year 1986 ( MCMLXXXVI) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link displays 1986 Gregorian calendar) The latest spinoff, C-SPAN3, began broadcasting on January 22, 2001, and shows other government-related live events along with historical programming from C-SPAN's archives. Events 565 - Eutychius is deposed as Patriarch of Constantinople by John Scholasticus. Year 2001 ( MMI) was a Common year starting on Monday according to the Gregorian calendar.

On October 9, 1997, C-SPAN launched C-SPAN Radio, which broadcasts on WCSP 90.1 FM in Washington, D.C.. Events 768 - Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks. Year 1997 ( MCMXCVII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full 1997 Gregorian calendar WCSP-FM, C-SPAN Radio, is a Radio station licensed to Washington D WCSP-FM, C-SPAN Radio, is a Radio station licensed to Washington D See also Frequency modulation, FM band FM broadcasting is a broadcast Technology invented by Edwin Howard Armstrong that Washington DC ( formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D The radio station, which is also available on XM and was on Sirius satellite radio(2002-2006), covers similar events as its sister TV networks, often simulcasting their programming. Simulcast is a Portmanteau of " simul taneous broad' cast' " and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one

All three video channels, plus the radio channel, are globally available through streaming media via the C-SPAN web site. Streaming multimedia is Multimedia that is constantly received by and normally presented to an end-user while it is being delivered by a streaming provider (the Additionally, some programs are archived on the Internet for weeks or for longer times.

On February 12, 2003, C-SPAN launched the Amos B. Events 1429 - English Forces under Sir John Fastolf defend a supply convoy carrying rations to the army besieging Orleans from attack by the Year 2003 ( MMIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. Hostetter Distance Learning Program with the University of Denver. The University of Denver ( DU) founded in 1864 is the oldest private University in the Rocky Mountain Region of the United States. Steve Scully, Political Editor and Chair of Communication, instructs the course from the C-SPAN center in Washington, D. C. and features prominent guests in politics and journalism who can field questions live to students in Denver over 1,500 miles away. Soon after, the program was also expanded to Pace University in New York. Pace University is a private, Co-educational, and comprehensive multi-campus University in the New York metropolitan area with campuses New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous

C-SPAN also provides unedited, commercial-free coverage of campaign events, both on its weekly "Road to the White House" program and at its dedicated politics website, C-SPAN Politics[1]. This political event footage is often used to substantiate opinion articles elsewhere on the internet.

Coverage

In addition to live coverage of House and Senate proceedings and local and general elections, the three channels air government hearings, press conferences and meetings of various political, media, and non-profit organizations; book discussions, interviews, and occasionally proceedings of the Parliament of Canada, Parliament of the United Kingdom (usually Prime Minister's Questions and the State Opening of Parliament) and other governments when they discuss matters of importance to viewers in the U. In law a hearing is a Proceeding before a Court or other decision-making body or officer A news conference or press conference is a Media event in which newsmakers invite journalists to hear them speak and most often ask questions "Popular press" redirects here note that the University of Wisconsin Press publishes under the imprint "The Popular Press" The Parliament of Canada (Parlement du Canada is Canada 's legislative branch, seated at Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario. The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom and British overseas territories Prime Minister's Questions ( PMQs) (officially Questions to the Prime Minister) is a constitutional convention in the United Kingdom, where every In the United Kingdom, the State Opening of Parliament is an annual event held usually in October or November that marks the commencement of a session of the Parliament S. Similarly, the networks will sometimes carry news reports from around the world when major events occur. Newscasts and other broadcasts in foreign languages are dubbed into English. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States

C-SPAN has submitted requests to air live United States Supreme Court proceedings, but has always been denied camera access. The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States and leads the federal judiciary. However, the network has aired audio tapes of the Court in session on significant cases and has covered individual Supreme Court Justices' speaking engagements.

C-SPAN is the only cable channel that covers the Republican and Democratic presidential nominating convention in their entirety. The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. A United States presidential nominating convention is a political convention held every four years in the United States by most of the political parties Following the deaths of Ronald Reagan in 2004, Rosa Parks in 2005 and Gerald Ford in 2006, C-SPAN featured live, uninterrupted coverage of the visitors who came to the Capitol Rotunda to pay their final respects. The 40th President of the United States, Ronald Wilson Reagan, died on June 5 2004 after suffering from Alzheimer's disease for nearly a decade Rosa Louise McCauley Parks (February 4 1913 – October 24 2005 was an African American Civil rights activist whom the U Gerald Ford died on December 26, 2006 at his home in Rancho Mirage, California, at 645 p The rotunda is the central rotunda of the United States Capitol, below the Capitol dome. The network also provided coverage of Lady Bird Johnson's funeral in Stonewall, Texas. Claudia Alta "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson (December 22 1912&ndashJuly 11 2007 was First Lady of the United States from 1963 to 1969 having been the wife of Stonewall is a Census-designated place (CDP in Gillespie County, Texas, United States.

Additionally, C-SPAN simulcasts NASA Space Shuttle mission launches and landings live, using the footage and audio from NASA TV. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration ( NASA, ˈnæsə is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program NASA TV (originally NASA Select) is the Television network of the United States space agency NASA.

C-SPAN and the Internet

All of C-SPAN's live feeds are streamed free of charge on its World Wide Web site in both Real Media and Windows Media formats. RealMedia is a Multimedia container format created by RealNetworks. Windows Media is a Multimedia framework for media creation and distribution for Microsoft Windows. Selected C-SPAN programs are archived for the general public on its website for at least two weeks, while others remain permanently accessible. C-SPAN has exclusive rights to all recordings and may charge from $30 to $45 for DVD copies of programs. [2]

In August of 2007, C-SPAN unveiled a new "C-SPAN Video Library" webpage [3], which will eventually provide free access to all of its past programs--including Congressional proceedings, hyperlinked to corresponding Congressional Record entries--that are not otherwise subject to copyright.

Organization

Uncommonly for a television network, C-SPAN is operated as a non-profit organization by the National Cable Satellite Corporation, whose board of directors consists primarily of representatives of the largest cable companies. A non-profit organization ( abbreviated "NPO" also "not-for-profit" is a legally constituted Organization whose objective is to support or engage C-SPAN accepts no advertising; instead, it receives nearly all its funding from subscriber fees charged to cable and DBS operators. Direct broadcast satellite (DBS is a term used to refer to Satellite television broadcasts intended for home reception also referred to more broadly as direct-to-home Contrary to popular perception, C-SPAN receives no funding from government sources.

Following

In its early days, cable companies tried to replace C-SPAN with revenue-producing channels. As stated above, C-SPAN is funded by the cable industry; thus, the industry loses money airing C-SPAN. However, C-SPAN had developed somewhat of a "cult following" among political junkies and citizens who had always wanted to see what was really happening with their elected officials. Avid C-SPAN viewers often refer to themselves as "C-SPAN Junkies," "SPANners," or "Spanheads".

Over time, the cable companies and the general public realized that C-SPAN provided a desired and much needed public service; a "window" into the operations of Congress. C-SPAN has never had the ratings of major networks, but its devoted following [4] [5] ensured that it would remain part of the cable industry, and all attempts at replacing it with other channels have long ceased.

In 2007, Brian Lamb was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, primarily for founding and running C-SPAN. Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. Brian Patrick Lamb (born October 9, 1941 in Indiana helped found the C-SPAN television channels in the United States in 1979 and has been Chief The Presidential Medal of Freedom is a decoration bestowed by the President of the United States and is along with the equivalent Congressional Gold Medal bestowed Appropriately, the award ceremony was broadcast by C-SPAN.

C-SPAN and Copyright

On March 7, 2007 C-SPAN liberalized its copyright policy for current, future, and past coverage of any official events sponsored by Congress and any federal agency and now allows for non-commercial copying, sharing, and posting of C-SPAN video on the Internet, with attribution. Events 161 - Roman Emperor Antoninus Pius dies and is succeeded by co-Emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus Year 2007 ( MMVII) was a Common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar in the 21st century. [6]

Prior to this change, C-SPAN engaged in numerous actions to stop parties from making unauthorized uses of their content online including cases where the footage is the House and Senate proceedings. For example, Dem Bloggers received a take down request for clips they had posted. [7] In May 2006, C-SPAN requested the removal of the Stephen Colbert performance at the White House Correspondent's Dinner from YouTube while allowing it to remain on Google Video [8], causing concern from web bloggers. On April 29 2006, American Comedian Stephen Colbert appeared as the featured entertainer at the 2006 White House Correspondents' Association YouTube is a video sharing website where users can upload view and share Video clips YouTube was created in February 2005 by three former PayPal employees Google Video is a free video sharing website and also a video service from Google that allows anyone to upload Video Clips to Google's web [9]

Websites such as metavid and voterwatch. Metavid is a Free software wiki based community archive project for audio video media org make House and Senate video records freely available. C-SPAN contested metavid usage of C-SPAN video which resulted in metavid taking down portions of the archive which were produced with C-SPAN's cameras while maintaining an archive of government produced content. [10]

On December 14th 2006 C-SPAN wrote an open letter to Speaker Designate Nancy Pelosi requesting that floor proceedings be covered by C-SPAN cameras. Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi (born March 26 1940 is the current Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. This would put the floor footage under the same restrictive license as C-SPAN produced content. [11] The request was denied [12]

Allegations of bias and other controversies

Despite its stated commitment to providing politically balanced programming, C-SPAN shows such as Washington Journal, Booknotes, Q & A, and Afterwords have alternatively been accused of having a conservative or liberal bias. The watchdog group Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) released a study of C-SPAN's morning call-in show Washington Journal, showing that Republicans were favored as guests over Democrats by a two-to-one margin during a six-month period in 2005, and that people of color are underrepresented. Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting ( FAIR) is a progressive Media criticism organization based in New York City, founded in 1986 FAIR and critics including guests have charged that the shows Booknotes and Afterwords highlight more conservative authors than liberals.

In 2004, C-SPAN planned to broadcast a speech by Holocaust historian Deborah Lipstadt paired with a speech by Holocaust denier David Irving. The Holocaust (from the Greek el ''ὁλόκαυστον'' (el-Latn holókauston holos, "completely" and kaustos, "burnt" also known as See also History An historian is an individual who studies and writes about History, and is regarded as an Authority on it Deborah Esther Lipstadt (born March 18 1947 New York City) is an American Historian and author of the book Denying the Holocaust. Holocaust denial is the claim that the Genocide of Jews during World War II —usually referred to as The Holocaust —did not occur in the David John Cawdell Irving (born 24 March 1938 is a British writer specializing in the Military history of World War II. Irving unsuccessfully sued Lipstadt for libel in the United Kingdom in 2000. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located 2000 ( MM) was a Leap year that started on Saturday of the Common Era, in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. C-SPAN claimed airing Lipstadt's speech adjacently with Irving's would provide a "balance" of opinions. However, due to the uproar from outraged viewers, liberal groups, and Jewish organizations, C-SPAN canceled the broadcasts of both speeches.

In 2005, the left-leaning media watchdog group Media Matters for America took issue that L. Brent Bozell, the head of the right-leaning Media Research Center, was booked by C-SPAN2 to interview former CBS producer Mary Mapes on After Words, following an incident where the authenticity of some documents used to support a report on then-campaigning President George W. Media Matters for America (or MMfA) is a 501(c(3 Non-profit organization founded in 2004 by Journalist and Author Leo Brent Bozell III (born July 14, 1955 in Washington DC) is the founder and president of the Media Research Center, the Conservative The Media Research Center (MRC is a conservative Content analysis organization based in Alexandria Virginia, founded in 1987 by L CBS Broadcasting Inc ( CBS) is an American radio and Television network. Mary Mapes is an American Journalist and former Television News producer. Bush's Texas National Guard stint were questioned. [13]

Past chairmen

Shows

See also

References

External links

The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR is a progressive Economic policy Think-tank based in Washington D
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