The C-SPAN Bus made an appearance on Kent State University campus Friday morning, bringing a treasure trove of historical and political information to those students who were not asleep or in class.
Luckily for those who missed it, the research tools available on the bus are available 24 hours a day online, too.
Jennifer Curran, marketing representative for C-SPAN, said the bus uses technology to let students and the public know what the non-profit, public affairs stations have to offer.
"The goal is to raise awareness of C-SPAN," she said. "We have touch screen kiosks than demonstrate all the resources from our three networks."
C-SPAN, or the Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, is a private, non-profit company created and funded by the cable television industry to provide the country with coverage of its political processes, with a focus on congressional hearings.
C-SPAN, launched in 1979, focuses on coverage of the U.S. House of Reprsentatives, while C-SPAN 2 began featuring the Senate and Book-TV programming after its 1986 launch. C-SPAN 3 shows additional public affairs and American history programs.
The networks' website, cspan.org, offers 190,000 hours of programming, which students and researchers can edit down to video clips for use in presentations, along with Congressional voting records and other information
Curran said the current bus trip is promoting the networks and website, as well as the new series "First Ladies: Influence and Image," a show documenting the lives of the wives of the U.S. Presidents, which will debut at 9 p.m. Feb. 25 and run every Monday.
Today, the bus will continue its tour of Ohio at the National First Ladies' Library in Canton.
Curran said many of the high school and college students who have viewed the bus so far were aware of the networks, but surprised by the amount of research material C-SPAN offers online.
"The students are really interested in going through our online resources, especially those they can use for school," she said.
Curran said college students who toured the bus have also expressed interest in C-SPAN's internship opportunities, which can include research, programming and scheduling duties.
"It's not a coffee-run internship," she said.
Contact this reporter at 330-298-1126 or tgallick@recordpub.com
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