Students get an inside look at public affairs production from C-SPAN

By Julia Tibbets
Journalism senior

C-SPAN and Purdue have teamed up to bring a new class to communication and political science students.

COM491T/POL491B, offered for the first time this semester, gave students an inside look at how public affairs are covered by the C-SPAN television network. It also taught them how to realize the C-SPAN mission of employing production values that accurately convey the business of government rather than distract from it.

Scott Schroeder, instructor of video production classes in the Communication Department, and Robert Browning, political science associate professor and director of C-SPAN archives, worked together to teach students about public affairs reporting and to help them apply their knowledge to the actual taping of events in C-SPAN fashion.

"I want the students to understand the big picture of what C-SPAN is all about.
They need to understand not only what C-SPAN does, but why it is important," said Schroeder.

C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb videoconferences with students

There have also been numerous guest lecturers from C-SPAN's Washington, D.C., headquarters.

Browning, who manages the recording, indexing, duplication and distribution of C-SPAN video and the licensing of materials, has been director of the archives since 1997, when they were moved from Purdue into the new Research Park. He and Schroeder discussed starting the class when they worked together on local public affairs programming.

"With my relationship with C-SPAN and Purdue, this class was a natural," said Browning.

C-SPAN, which is funded by the American cable industry, was started in 1979 by Purdue Communication graduate Brian Lamb, who is now chief executive officer. Lamb said he was tired of the slant put on public affairs by the media.

"I find news today to be not very interesting; I find it to be for entertainment," Lamb said in a videoconference lecture with the class.

The idea was to create a news network that would offer viewers an unbiased view of the news. Lamb wanted to simply tape events and air them without cuts or commentary to let the public make up their own minds about the issues.

To cover events this way, it is necessary for the crew to know how to cover the events in an unbiased way. The course required students to learn techniques necessary to provide as-objective-as-possible reporting. It also explored the implications of providing balance, understanding the goals of politicians and political organizations, the issues in pool and political event coverage, and the history of legislatiave coverage.

The students then applied the techniques to the taping of two events: a large-scale event, which included a Purdue Student Senate meeting, a University Senate meeting and radio broadcast of a mayoral debate, and a small-scale event, which included speeches, interviews or news conferences on campus.

To aid in educating students about the C-SPAN mission and practices, many classes were lectures and question-and-answer sessions with C-SPAN employees. Lamb; Susan Swain and Rob Kennedy, co-chief operating officers; Jack Jackson, vice president of human relations; and Barry Katz, video assets manager, all participated in videoconference lectures. C-SPAN includes education in its mission, sponsoring a C-SPAN bus that tours to American elementary schools and also participates in a distance learning initiative with the University of Denver, in addition to the Purdue class.

Elizabeth VanHolt, a senior majoring in public communication and political science, said the class "is an interesting opportunity to learn new perspectives." Although she thinks the technical aspects have been a challenge, she said she now has a greater appreciation for the media field and the struggle for objectivity journalists face.

The majority of the class is made up of political science students, and Schroeder acknowledged the problems that presented. "I think the first thing that needs to change is the number of communication students compared to political science," he said. "The numbers need to be more even."

Both Browning and Schroeder would like to see the class continue to be offered but will evaluate and make changes based on this semester. But whatever changes may be made, both think the subject matter and technical applications of the class are relevant for communication and political science majors.

"We hope that some of the students in this class might go on to be effective leaders in politics, communication, government, and media, and what they learned in this course will help them achieve those goals," said Browning. "I have heard from many in C-SPAN that they wish they had an opportunity to take a course such as this."

"This is the only course we offer that gives the students an opportunity to gain these skills," said Schroeder. "They also have the opportunity to speak with professionals in the field of television production. They can better understand what these people go through on a regular basis."