With all the talk about how the Obama campaign helped to promote "digital democracy" in America, it's important to remember which network was the first to bring the everyday workings of our federal government into our living rooms and offices: C-SPAN.
Ann and I had a chance to catch up with friends at C-SPAN at their studios this morning. We were reminded just how groundbreaking C-SPAN was, and how many conventions of cable news coverage that we now take for granted actually originated with C-SPAN: taking viewer calls during shows, using close-ups of highlighted newspaper stories to help summarize the issues of the day, bringing cameras into radio station studios, real-time coverage not just of floor proceedings but also committee hearings, extending free access to these proceedings to the Internet, etc. And C-SPAN's hallmark is its objectivity - no other media outlet is so committed to let the facts speak for themselves and let the viewer decide.
Because C-SPAN largely refuses to toot its own horn, its contributions to digital democracy are either overlooked or taken for granted. With tomorrow's Inaugural, this is a good time to take a fresh look at all the ways C-SPAN is putting people in touch with government. As we celebrate a peaceful, democratic change of leadership, C-SPAN is another bit of democracy worth celebrating.
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