|
|
BY JEFF BRANSCOME
About 50 University of Mary Washington students voluntarily walked onto a bus yesterday to learn about C-SPAN.
Professors hadn't even promised them extra credit.
So why would these 20-somethings take time to watch footage of Congress and the British House of Commons?
Well, for one thing, the "Civics Bus" isn't just a PR tool for C-SPAN.
It doubles as a mobile $1.3 million production studio, complete with plasma TVs, cameras and sound equipment.
Former President Bill Clinton was interviewed on the vehicle in 1995--the year it hit roadways.
And it was in Arizona covering John McCain on Election Day last fall.
"The students who have come on board have done so because they're curious," said marketing representative Sarah Parker.
The 45-foot-long bus was parked along College Avenue--near the university smokestack--from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. yesterday. It visited the Central Rappahannock Regional Library later that afternoon.
It's one of two C-SPAN buses traveling the country to drop by 100 schools in 100 days, Parker said. Fredericksburg was stop No. 60.
C-SPAN marketing representative Jennifer Curran chatted about camera angles with some students. News channels sometimes point cameras down at politicians, which she said implies inferiority.
C-SPAN doesn't toy with camera angles, she said, making it different from news channels such as FOX and MSNBC.
"We're no better or worse than those other networks; we just have a different perspective," Curran said.
After Saddam Hussein's capture, for instance, C-SPAN covered a press conference without showing footage of the ousted leader.
Meanwhile, other channels displayed live shots of the dictator more prominently than the news conference with U.S. military officials.
The bus's visitors included a group of UMW College Republicans, who sat on a red couch at the front of the vehicle.
Junior Kara Cutrona said she toured the C-SPAN bus in high school with an advanced-placement government class.
"I like that it just presents a neutral aspect of politics," she said.
During her visit yesterday, she watched footage of the British House of Commons and a shouting match between Al Franken and Bill O'Reilly on one of two flat-screen TVs.
"Are you all going to run home and turn on C-SPAN?" Curran asked the students.
They smiled.
But in all seriousness, it's likely that some will turn to the channel in the future for class projects.
"I'm a political science major, so I've watched a lot of C-SPAN," said junior Kelly McCain.
Jeff Branscome: 540/374-5402
Email: jbranscome@freelancestar.com
The C-SPAN Civics Bus: Has logged 800,000 miles. Visits 300 schools annually, on average. Has two miles of audio and video cable. Weighs 44,000 pounds. Has hosted political notables, including Bill Richardson, Mitt Romney and Rudy Giuliani. Covered the presidential race last year. Hosted 63,000 students and 11,000 teachers during its "Road to the White House" from January 2007 until December 2008. |
C-SPAN is a private, nonprofit company, created in 1979 by the cable television industry as a public service, according to c-span.org. Its mission is to provide public access to the political process. The channel receives no government funding. It operates with fees paid by cable and satellite affiliates who carry C-SPAN programming. |
