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C-SPAN bus parks at State Capitol

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Also by Carl Jaeger:

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Officials debate Wiley's legacy (December 10, 2007)
'No guarantee' in UW success (December 10, 2007)
New rules apply for UW seg fees (December 7, 2007)
Regents hear about booze, textbooks (December 7, 2007)

by Carl Jaeger

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

With the 2008 presidential election 15 months away, national media outlets are already aiming to spread political awareness across the country.

On Aug. 29, a C-SPAN bus was parked across from the steps of the state capitol as part of the "Road to the White House Tour." The event was presented in partnership with Charter Communications and WisconsinEye, a new channel focusing on the Wisconsin Legislature, similar to C-SPAN’s focus on the U.S. Congress.

People walking near the Capitol were encouraged to tour the bus and further their knowledge of C-SPAN.

The cable network is sending two buses across the country, serving as both a political awareness tool and as on-site production studios, fully equipped with cameras, sound control and editing equipment.

C-SPAN media specialist Steve Devoney said the channel would need to move beyond its headquarters in Washington, D.C. to promote itself and the election.

"The best way to promote the public service aspect was to literally get out of Washington and get into the community," Devoney said.

Devoney added the bus will stop at various schools, libraries and state capitols across the country.

"We explain — primarily to students — what C-SPAN is and how to use it," Devoney said.

With a mobile television station, Devoney said the network is able to cover more political happenings across the country from a different perspective, adding that "sometimes you need to have a studio where you don't have a studio, like a primary, caucus or event."

Since the bus began touring the country in Jan. 2007, Devoney said it has visited 23 state capitals and 85 schools.

WisconsinEye Director for Operations Fred Woskoff said both C-SPAN and Wisconsin Eye play "a role in informing the public."

"People can watch C-SPAN for national elections or watch WisconsinEye for state elections and kind of get a broader sense of the candidates then you might from the local news or a newspaper," Woskoff said.

Television screens that aired both C-SPAN and WisconsinEye were also set up outside of the bus.

State Rep. Terese Berceau, D-Madison, who noticed herself on a WisconsinEye broadcast while walking past the bus, said the bus is a great learning opportunity.

"I think it's really exciting because I'm hoping that people will really start thinking about who they put in office and what is happening in our world and our communities, and make that linkage," Berceau said.

Devoney said C-SPAN is a public service provided by the cable industry to allow entire speeches and hearings to be aired, rather then just quotes or sound bites that are in newspapers or television news segments.

"The idea of having long-form programming without any commercial interruptions and without any commentary is kind of a unique and strange concept to most people because it's a real time commitment," Devoney said.

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