The C-SPAN Revolution

The C-SPAN Revolution

From BooklistWhen proponents of cable television tout the medium's potential to inform and educate, presumably they have in mind programming like that offered by C-SPAN--and not infomercials for exercise apparatus or recycled television sitcoms. The Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, now in its seventeenth year of operation, is unique in its unobtrusive "fly-on-the-wall," full-length coverage of public events. Frantzich is a political science professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, and Sullivan, who teaches English at the University of Virginia, has frequently written about public argument in the mass media. They have compiled here an extensively researched, thorough history of the network, first investigating the relationship between political events and media coverage. They tell how C-SPAN was started, portray its corporate culture, analyze its impact, and consider the network's future in the "Age of Cyberdemocracy." David RouseBeginning in 1979, C-SPAN (the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network) has offered gavel-to-gavel, unedited coverage of public events--especially sessions of Congress--in the United States. The C-SPAN Revolution, by Stephen Frantzich and John Sullivan, is the first history of this unique network, offering a behind-the-scenes look at C-SPAN