C-SPAN

2023 - 1 - 5

Post cover — Image courtesy of "Slate Magazine"

How C-SPAN Is Capturing All Those Stunning Moments in the ... (Slate Magazine)

The all-seeing cameras of a normally staid network might be Congress' only winners.

But if they know if the next person is a Democrat, or the next three people are Democrats, we know that the cameras that could have the best views of Democrats are going to be the cameras that the director is going to rely on for those next three people. We have staffed it so we have these six people and who came in at a specific time—we know the sessions are going to beginning at noon, and we then have a later crew that comes in mid-afternoon and are available to take their places in the evening, should that be necessary. It works really well for movies or TV shows, we do want to have a production that is dynamic and engaging, but I’m not sure that there’s a lot of experimentation, at least not in terms of style, that’s helpful to us in that regard. A couple of our directors have told us that this is one of the hardest things to direct at C-SPAN, because the clerk says a name, the member stands up, says a name, sits down, and then the clerk moves on to the next member. So they will swear in the next Congress, and then after that we have to pull our cameras down. The field crew uses that to have a rough idea of who the next person is that’s being called to vote. We want to make sure that we’re putting people in the room and we’re doing so in a way that’s really going to represent what it feels like to be in the room. One is a list of the people we would like to see voting, if possible—meaning, we want to get a clear shot of them standing up and saying a name that’s relatively tight so you can absolutely tell who they are, so you can see their face. Between central and the field crew that’s in the Capitol, it would be a text or maybe a phone call, although it’d have to be real quick because these people are busy. I’m going to give a ton of credit to our camera operators and our directors. Meaning that one network does it, and all the other networks that are media entities that are credentialed for Capitol Hill coverage are entitled to that video. We’re taking a feed that is provided by the government to all media outlets, and even on the House’s own website, to show what’s happening on the floor.

C-SPAN is having a moment (CNN)

Usually, the House forbids independent media coverage of proceedings, meaning that networks must rely on a government feed for coverage. But when there are ...

“I think it is really important for journalists to be behind the cameras rather than the government be behind the cameras,” O’Connell added. And I think it would be invaluable to have journalists behind the camera instead.” “It would be great if we could provide this kind of coverage even during deliberations on major legislations or other times beyond the speaker election and more ceremonial functions of Congress,” he said. “We are able to show scrums of members migrate across the floor as negotiations go on. “We are able to show Paul Gosar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sitting down and speaking to one another. Usually, the House forbids independent media coverage of proceedings, meaning that networks must rely on a government feed for coverage.

A House Without Rules Makes for C-Span Gone Wild (New York Magazine)

Insults about public drinking? Video-game memes? Marjorie Taylor Greene acting normal? It's chaos on the Hill.

A row of TV cameras is set up just outside the entrance to the House chamber, and for those seeking a respite during the endless votes, the walk to get on Jake Tapper’s show is shorter than the walk to go to the toilet. Looming over the scene was a statue of legendary humorist Will Rogers, one of his native Oklahoma’s contributions to Statuary Hall. The roll-call votes lacked suspense — after all, on Wednesday all three votes produced the same result, but an evening vote on whether to adjourn produced high drama as Democrats, with the help of a handful of McCarthy’s strongest opponents, tried to keep Congress in session. This general sense of old-fashioned political drama that rarely happens in modern politics was amplified by the heavy odor of cigar smoke on the third floor of the Capitol, though that had nothing to do with the recess vote. At one point, he walked over to [Matt Gaetz of Florida ](https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2021/03/matt-gaetz-gets-a-scandal-as-wild-as-him.html)and spoke to him, leaning over the seated Gaetz and talking into his ear. All the while, without a Speaker, the chamber was presided over by the Clerk of the House, a nonpartisan figure with no rooting interest in the result. By day two, he tried to get out and about on the floor during the endless votes for Speaker, which stretched on for over an hour at a time. The endless floor votes sparked their own routines as members chimed in alphabetically, from Alma Adams of North Carolina to Ryan Zinke of Montana. It comes from an online clip in which a team of online gamers works out an elaborate plan to defeat its foes in World of Warcraft, but one team member, not paying attention, simply charges headlong into the fray, shouting his name, Leeroy Jenkins, as a battle cry with a long emphasis on Leeroy. No one has been sworn in because there is no Speaker, and therefore everyone on the floor is still a member-elect. After all, it is against the rules for members to cast “personal aspersions” against one another on the floor. The lack of rules has benefited the television-viewing audience, too.

A silver lining for House Speaker election: Freedom for C-SPAN (The Hill)

The failure to elect a Speaker so far in the House has one silver lining, at least for TV viewers. C-SPAN, the public service network that televises ...

[What America's Thinking](https://thehill.com/hilltv/america/) [Anyone BUT Kevin McCarthy? Such an important and revealing POV,” Politico reporter Anthony Adragna Our live coverage resumes today with our own cameras until members are sworn in & then continues through the gov’t-controlled cameras.” Paul Gosar (R-Ariz) and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in conversation Tuesday, and anti-McCarthy hardliner Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in a series of animated exchanges Wednesday. The limits have held during periods of both Republican and Democratic control.

House Speaker Vote: C-SPAN Is America's Hottest TV Drama in 2023 (Hollywood Reporter)

The cable-funded non-profit has given viewers a unique perspective into the goings-on in Congress.

“I’ve been with the company for almost 22 years, and I still have people who I know very well who discover for the first time in conversations with me that C-SPAN is not a government agency,” O’Connell says. “I think it is absolutely a worthy endeavor for us to continue pursuing having cameras in the room when major decisions are being made, that are going to affect the lives of the American people. “I hope that coverage, like we’ve seen over the last two days, will lead people to understand how integral it is to have journalists behind the cameras when these decisions are being made.” “Many Americans are probably not aware that most of the time that you see the House of Representatives on C-SPAN, it’s actually being shot by government employees with government cameras, and they have fairly stringent guidelines under which they have to operate.” He adds that the House studio employees are “great professionals … “It’s against the guidelines that the House recording studio operates under. While some coverage has suggested that a lack of a House speaker means there are no rules around outside cameras in the House chamber, O’Connell says that isn’t quite right. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), who “are not exactly ideologically aligned with one another, to put it mildly,” O’Connell notes. Rather, the House allows outside cameras in for big events, like a State of the Union, or, yes, a speaker vote. “I don’t recall the last time I have seen C-SPAN mentioned on Twitter with this frequency. But there’s no question that, at least this week, everyone is glued to its coverage, if all the clips ricocheting across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok are any indication. And it’s all happening live, with the non-profit public affairs channel garnering more attention than it has since, well, maybe ever.

With the House in chaos, C-SPAN shows footage Americans don't ... (The Washington Post)

And that's largely thanks to C-SPAN. House votes to establish quorum ahead of speaker vote. 0: ...

These [20 Republicans voted against his candidacy](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/03/kevin-mccarthy-house-speaker-vote/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_5), and all but two McCarthy defectors in House are [election deniers](https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2023/01/03/mccarthy-defectors-election-deniers/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_6). The [longest House speaker vote in history](https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/12/30/house-speaker-longest-vote/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_10) took two months and 133 votes. As McCarthy fails to secure the necessary GOP votes, here’s [a list of other possible House speaker candidates](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/03/house-speaker-candidates/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_8), including [Byron Donalds](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/04/house-speaker-mccarthy-donalds-gop/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_9). [Follow live updates here.](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/05/house-speaker-vote-live-updates-kevin-mccarthy/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_2) [Who is Kevin McCarthy?](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/11/16/kevin-mccarthy-speaker/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_3) Republican McCarthy’s bid to become House speaker and replace [outgoing Democratic speaker Nancy Pelosi](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/nancy-pelosi-house-speaker/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_4) has failed on multiple ballots. Lawmakers typically invite their families to the first day of Congress to witness the pomp and circumstance, as well as be there for their swearing-in. On the first day of voting, he was seen sitting mostly by himself as he voted for McCarthy. [how the speaker of the House is elected](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/03/house-speaker-election/?itid=lb_kevin-mccarthys-bid-for-speaker-of-the-house_7). “Those visuals are really speaking to viewers,” he told The Post. But once a speaker is confirmed, C-SPAN will go back to its normal procedure. The cameras also caught rare moments like New York Democrat Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez conversing with Arizona Republican Paul A. “It’s helping to tell the story of this speaker election. Ocasio-Cortez later told