Our Views: C-SPAN has 30th birthday
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Talk about government transparency is all the rage these days, but the cause has a long history.
Or so we were reminded by the recent celebration of C-SPAN’s 30th birthday. A nonprofit public service funded by the cable television industry, C-SPAN debuted on March 19, 1979, to televise the proceedings of the U.S. House of Representatives. C-SPAN stands for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network. C-SPAN2 began in 1986 to air proceedings of the U.S. Senate. On weekends, C-SPAN2 airs Book TV, 48 hours of programming about nonfiction books. C-SPAN also uses satellite radio and a Web site to keep viewers informed.
C-SPAN’s coverage of Congress has inspired state and local government to televise proceedings of their public bodies, too. That’s a great way to promote government transparency and civic engagement. We congratulate C-SPAN on its three decades of public service.
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