C-SPAN bus rolls into Newton

It’s the cable channel of choice for political junkies everywhere. If a meeting is held in Washington, D.C., or a political candidate makes a campaign speech, odds are likely that C-SPAN will be there, recording it without frills or bias. The cable television channel’s bus, which acts as both an educational tool and a studio set, made a stop in Newton on Thursday during its “Politics in the Heartland Tour,” and local residents lined up for a peek inside. C-SPAN representative Doug Hemmig explained the channel’s style is to cover government events without the fancy production graphics of the other cable and network news channels. “We’re now the network of record for American government,” Hemmig said. “We’re not better than the network channels, just an alternative.”Hemmig showed bus visitors a video comparing coverage of a military spokesman concerning the war in Iraq by C-SPAN, MSNBC, CNN and Fox News, highlighting C-SPAN’s limited use of graphics and supporting videos. The bus has been on tour educating the public about the network as well as covering the presidential candidates at various sites throughout the state, including the recent GOP Straw Poll in Ames and at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. Arranged by Mediacom Communications, the bus visit is intended to give Iowa voters “a view of how the public affairs channel created by the cable industry will cover the presidential campaign,” according to a press release by Mediacom. Many segments of “The Road to the White House,” appearing on C-SPAN are filmed during candidate events in communities throughout Iowa. Created by the cable industry in the late 1970s to provide public access to the political process, C-SPAN is a non-profit company, receiving no government funding. Two C-SPAN channels are carried on Mediacom cable systems throughout Iowa, and more than 100 Iowa teachers are C-SPAN classroom members. In addition to community visits, C-SPAN’s education team is conducting a series of free workshops with middle school and high school teachers to share Campaign 2008 resources and hands-on media resources to enhance the teaching of civics and U.S. government. The Greater Newton Area Chamber of Commerce, with sponsorship from Fareway, Hy-Vee West, Wal-Mart, Dodd’s Trash Hauling & Recycling, provided lunch for bus visitors.