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C-SPAN, which originally stood for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, was the first United States cable television network dedicated to 24-hour coverage of government and public affairs. C-SPAN often shows live sessions of all the U.S. House of Representatives while in progress; this coverage is referred to as " gavel to gavel".The bulk of C-SPAN's operations are located on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., but they also maintain an archives on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.
1 History
Brian Lamb, C-SPAN's chairman and CEO, conceived of C-SPAN while working at the Cablevision company. It was created as a cable-industry financed, non-profit network for televising sessions of the U.S. Congress. It receives no funding from any government source and does not sell sponsorships or advertisingAdvertising is the paid promotion of goods, services, companies and ideas, by an identified sponsor. Marketers see advertising as part of an overall promotional strategy. Other components of the promotional mix include publicity, public relations, persona. The neutrality and lack of biasBias has several different meanings, most relating to an offset or prejudice of some sort. Viewpoint A bias is a prejudice in a general or specific sense, usually in the sense for having a predilection to one particular point of view or ideology. One is s in its public affairsPublic affairs is a catch-all term that includes public policy as well as public administration, both of which are closely related to and draw upon the fields of political science as well as economics. Public policy discussions are generally and conscious coverage is widely recognized.
C-SPAN first went on the air on March 19March 19 is the 78th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (79th in leap years). There are 287 days remaining. Events 1279 Mongolian victory in the Battle of Yamen ends the Song Dynasty in China. 1687 The men under explorer Robert Cavelier de La Salle, 1979Events January-February January 1 Sino-American relations: United States and the People's Republic of China establish diplomatic relations January 4 State of Ohio agrees to pay $675,000 to families of dead and injured in Kent State University shootings.. C-SPAN 2, a spinoff network, covers all live sessions of the U.S. SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the United States Congress, smaller than the U. House of Representatives. Together, they compose the legislative branch of the United States government. Seal of the Senate Each state elects two senators throu and went on the air on June 2, 1986, with the original channel then focusing on the House. The latest spinoff, C-SPAN 3, began broadcasting on January 22, 2001, and shows other government-related live events along with historical programming from C-SPAN's archives. Since 1979, the cable industry has spent US $230 million to operate the networks.
On October 9, 1997, C-SPAN launched C-SPAN Radio which broadcasts on WCSP 90.1 FM in Washington, DC. The radio station, which also broadcasts on the XM and Sirius satellite radio systems, covers similar events as its sister TV networks, often simulcasting their programming.
On September 13, 2004, C-SPAN received an Emmy Award in special recognition of "their outstanding coverage of the American electoral process."
