C-SPAN
Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN /ˈsiːˌspæn/ SEE-span) is an American cable and satellite television network, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a nonprofit public service. It televises proceedings of the United States federal government and other public affairs programming. C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit organization funded by its cable and satellite affiliates. It does not have advertisements on any of its television networks or radio stations, nor does it solicit donations or pledges on-air. The network operates independently; the cable industry and the U.S. Congress have no control over its programming content.
Country
United States
Nationwide
Capitol Hill, Washington, D.C.
English
1080i (HDTV)
(downscaled to letterboxed 480i for SDTV feeds)
National Cable Satellite Corporation
C-SPAN2
C-SPAN3
C-SPAN Radio
March 19, 1979
(C-SPAN)
June 2, 1986
(C-SPAN2)
January 22, 2001
(C-SPAN3)
90.1 FM / HD Radio (Washington, D.C. / Baltimore)
K33DB-D 50.3
C-SPAN Live
and on demand
The C-SPAN network includes the television channels C-SPAN, focusing on the U.S. House of Representatives; C-SPAN2, focusing on the U.S. Senate; and C-SPAN3, airing other government hearings and related programming; the radio station WCSP-FM; and a group of websites which provide streaming media and program archives. C-SPAN's television channels are available to approximately 100 million cable and satellite households within the United States. WCSP-FM is broadcast on FM radio in Washington, D.C., and is available throughout the U.S. on SiriusXM, via Internet streaming, and globally through iOS and Android apps.
The network televises U.S. political events, particularly live and "gavel-to-gavel" coverage of the U.S. Congress, as well as other major events worldwide. Coverage of political and policy events is unmoderated, providing the audience with unfiltered information about politics and government. Non-political coverage includes historical programming, programs dedicated to non-fiction books, and interview programs with noteworthy individuals associated with public policy.
Programming[edit]
Senate and House of Representatives[edit]
The C-SPAN network's core programming is live coverage of the U.S. House and Senate, with the C-SPAN channel emphasizing the United States House of Representatives. Between 1979 and May 2011, the network televised more than 24,246 hours of floor action.[9] C-SPAN2, the first of the C-SPAN spin-off networks, provides uninterrupted live coverage of the United States Senate.[39] With coverage of the House and Senate, viewers can track legislation as it moves through both bodies of Congress.[40] Important debates in Congress that C-SPAN has covered live include the Persian Gulf conflict during 1991, and the House impeachment vote and Senate trial of President Bill Clinton in 1998 and 1999 as well as the impeachment proceedings of President Trump in 2019 and 2020.[41][16] When the House or Senate are not in session, C-SPAN channels broadcast other public affairs programming and recordings of previous events.[40]
Public affairs[edit]
The public affairs coverage on the C-SPAN networks other than the House and Senate floor debates is wide-ranging. C-SPAN is considered a useful source of information for journalists, lobbyists, educators and government officials as well as casual viewers interested in politics, due to its unedited coverage of political events.[12] C-SPAN has been described by media observers as a "window into the world of Washington politics" and it characterizes its own mission as being "to provide public access to the political process".[42][43] The networks cover U.S. political campaigns, including the Republican, Democratic, and Libertarian presidential nominating conventions in their entirety. Coverage of presidential campaign events are provided during the duration of the campaign, both by a weekly television program, Road to the White House,[39] and at its dedicated politics website.[44] C-SPAN also covers midterm elections.[45]
The C-SPAN networks are available in more than 100 million households as of 2010, not including access to the C-SPAN websites.[42][116] More than 7,000 telephone callers have participated with discussion on Washington Journal as of March 18, 2009.[117] There are no official viewing statistics for C-SPAN because the network, which has no commercials or underwriting advertisements, does not use the Nielsen ratings.[47] However, there have been a number of surveys providing estimates:
Public and media opinion[edit]
A 2009 C-SPAN survey of viewers found that the network's most-valued attribute was its balanced programming. The survey's respondents were a mixed group, with 31% describing themselves as "liberal", while 28% described themselves as "conservative", and the survey found that C-SPAN viewers are an equal mixture of men and women of all age groups.
C-SPAN's public service nature has been praised as an enduring contribution to national knowledge.[121] In 1987, Andrew Rosenthal wrote for The New York Times about C-SPAN's influence in political elections, arguing that C-SPAN's "blanket coverage" had expanded television journalism "into areas once shielded from general view".[122] The network has received positive media coverage for providing public access to proceedings such as the Goldman Sachs Senate hearings,[123] and the U.S. 2010 Healthcare Summit,[124] while its everyday programming has been credited with providing the media and the general public with an intimate knowledge of U.S. political proceedings and people.[124][125][126] The ability of C-SPAN to provide this service without federal funding, advertising or soliciting viewer contributions has been remarked by local newspapers and online news services, with the Daily Beast terming C-SPAN's $55 million annual budget (in 2009), "an astounding bargain."[121][127] In an article on the 25th anniversary of the network, The Washington Post noted that C-SPAN's programming has been copied by television networks worldwide and credits the network with providing information about foreign politics to American viewers.[128] According to The New York Times, C-SPAN's mission to record official events in Washington, D.C., makes it "one of a kind", particularly in the creation of the C-SPAN Video Library, which received significant press coverage.[25][88]
Despite its stated commitment to providing politically balanced programming, C-SPAN and its shows such as Washington Journal, Booknotes, Q & A, and After Words have been accused by some liberal organizations of having a conservative bias.[129] In 2005, the media criticism organization Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR) released a study of C-SPAN's morning telephone call-in show Washington Journal. In their six-month sample of guests, they identified 32 as "right-of-center" and 19 as "left-of-center"; they also noted people of color are underrepresented at 15% of the guest list.[130] A 2007 survey released by the think tank Center for Economic and Policy Research reported that C-SPAN covered conservative think tanks more than left-of-center think tanks.[131]
Prank calls and obscenities[edit]
Due to the open phone lines on Washington Journal, C-SPAN has been noted to have a tradition of prank calls.[145][146][147] Calls have ranged from crude jokes about Howard Stern and Bababooey to racist tirades against Martin Luther King Jr and questions regarding the size of Mitt Romney's penis.[148][149][150][151] One particularly well-known instance happened in 2015, when during a segment on the Iran nuclear deal framework, a man calling himself Jack Strickland called in claiming to be from Bel-Air, California, before promptly reciting the theme song of the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air TV show.[152] Obscenities have also made it into broadcasts, such as in 2014 where a caller referred to President Barack Obama as a racial slur before being kicked off the air.[153] The network implemented a 3-second broadcast delay in 2016 to combat these types of calls.[154]
