C-SPAN

==Prank calls and obscenities==
Due to the open phone lines on ''Washington Journal'', C-SPAN has been noted to have a tradition of [[prank calls]].<ref name="Holmes 2015">{{cite web | last=Holmes | first=Jack | title=C-SPAN Caller Asks If He Can Sh*t in Congressman's Mouth | website=Esquire | date=2015-12-17 | url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/videos/a40594/cspan-caller-shit-in-your-mouth-dave-brat/ | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref><ref name="The Salt Lake Tribune 2018">{{cite web | title=As C-SPAN's bus hits Salt Lake City, here are the top 10 things you didn't know about the public affairs network | website=The Salt Lake Tribune | date=2018-04-25 | url=https://www.sltrib.com/news/politics/2018/04/25/as-c-spans-bus-hits-salt-lake-city-here-are-the-top-10-things-you-didnt-know-about-the-public-affairs-network/ | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref><ref name="Kirby 2020">{{cite web | last=Kirby | first=Jen | title=Why C-SPAN's quirky call-in show has endured for 40 years | website=Vox | date=2020-02-12 | url=https://www.vox.com/2020/2/12/21076183/c-span-callers-history-washington-journal | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> Calls have ranged from crude jokes about [[Howard Stern]] and [[Bababooey]] to racist tirades against [[Martin Luther King&nbsp;Jr]] and questions regarding the size of [[Mitt Romney]]'s penis.<ref name="HuffPost 2012">{{cite web | title=C-SPAN Prank Callers Ask Lewd Questions About Mitt Romney | website=HuffPost | date=2012-01-12 | url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/mitt-romney-penis-c-span-questions-prank-callers_n_1202524 | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ultimate C-SPAN Prank Call Compilation|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tsq1P-U7wD8|website=YouTube|access-date=January 15, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?c3584039/user-clip-howard-stern-call-3|title=User Clip: Howard Stern Prank Call #3 &#124; C-SPAN.org|website=www.c-span.org}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.thewrap.com/c-span-flooded-with-racist-phone-calls-on-50th-anniversary-of-mlk-death/ | title=C-SPAN Flooded with Racist Phone Calls on 50th Anniversary of MLK Death (Video) | date=April 4, 2018 }}</ref> One particularly well-known instance happened in 2015, when during a segment on the [[Iran nuclear deal framework]], a man calling himself Jack Strickland called in claiming to be from [[Bel-Air, California]], before promptly reciting the theme song of the [[Fresh Prince of Bel-Air]] TV show.<ref name="Schwarz 2015">{{cite news | last=Schwarz | first=Hunter | title=The 'Fresh Prince of Bel-Air' called into C-SPAN. And it was terrific. | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2015-03-19 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/03/18/the-fresh-prince-of-bel-air-called-into-c-span-today-and-it-was-terrific/ | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> Obscenities have also made it into broadcasts, such as in 2014 where a caller referred to President [[Barack Obama]] as a [[racial slur]] before being kicked off the air.<ref name="Gold 1970">{{cite web | last=Gold | first=Hadas | title=Caller drops N-word on C-SPAN | website=POLITICO | date=2014-11-06 | url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/media/2014/11/caller-drops-n-word-on-c-span-198362 | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref> The network implemented a 3-second [[broadcast delay]] in 2016 to combat these types of calls.<ref name="Borchers 2016">{{cite news | last=Borchers | first=Callum | title=A brief history of obscenities on C-SPAN, in honor of the new 3-second delay | newspaper=Washington Post | date=2016-08-29 | url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/08/29/a-brief-history-of-obscenities-on-c-span-in-honor-of-the-new-3-second-delay/ | access-date=2023-11-14}}</ref>