C-SPAN

===Camera access===
C-SPAN broadcasts video feed, but does not control the placement or number of cameras on the House and Senate floor. Arguments over C-SPAN's camera in the House and Senate began as early as 1984, with a fight between Democrats and Republicans over camera angles. At the time C-SPAN only broadcast a shot of the person speaking. The Conservative Opportunity Society, led by [[Newt Gingrich]], took advantage of this by delivering speeches to an empty chamber, at times referring to Democrats who were not actually there. Speaker [[Tip O'Neill]], annoyed by the speeches, ordered the camera to display a wide-shot of the empty chamber without alerting the Republicans.<ref name=Weiner>{{cite news |title=C-SPAN denied cameras in the House of Representatives, again |first=Rachel|last=Weiner |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=February 4, 2011 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/04/AR2011020407317.html |access-date=February 8, 2011}}</ref> The incident turned into a widely publicized argument between Gingrich and O'Neill.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Bencks |first1=Jarret |title=When Partisanship Got Polarized |url=https://www.brandeis.edu/magazine/2020/fall/arts-and-culture/gingrich.html |website=Brandeis Magazine |access-date=January 12, 2023}}</ref>

After the 1984 incident, the House allowed both wide-angle shots and close-ups of the speaker until 1994, when they reverted to just close-up shots in an effort to make the House look "more dignified."<ref name=Weiner /> The Senate, which had allowed cameras since 1987, had always only allowed close-ups.

In 1994, C-SPAN requested increased camera access from both the Senate and the House of Representatives, and for permission to bring their own cameras.<ref name=Weiner /> They asked permission to pan for wide reaction shots, and install cameras for House-Senate conference committees and off-floor interviews, among other things. They also asked permission to have C-SPAN employees man the cameras instead of government employees.<ref>{{cite news |title=C-Span asks Congress for greater camera access to sessions |url=https://www.rcfp.org/c-span-asks-congress-greater-camera-access-sessions/ |access-date=January 12, 2023 |publisher=Reporters Committee |date=November 29, 1994}}</ref> These requests were rejected. Speaker [[Dennis Hastert]] rejected similar requests in 1999, as well as incoming Speaker [[Nancy Pelosi]] in 2006.<ref name=Weiner /> A December 2009 request to film healthcare negotiations was similarly denied.<ref name=FoxNews>{{cite web |url=http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/c-span-challenges-congress-open-health-care-talks-tv-coverage/ |title=C-SPAN Challenges Congress to Open Health Care Talks to TV Coverage |date=January 5, 2010 |work=foxnews.com |publisher=[[Fox News Channel|Fox News]] |access-date=November 22, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101118140658/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/01/05/c-span-challenges-congress-open-health-care-talks-tv-coverage/ |archive-date=November 18, 2010 |url-status=dead  }}</ref>

In 2011, C-SPAN again requested to bring cameras onto the House floor. Incoming Speaker [[John Boehner]] rejected the request, though he did allow reporters on the floor for 'special events.'<ref name=Weiner />

On June 22 and 23, 2016, C-SPAN took video footage of the House floor from individual House representatives via streaming services [[Periscope (app)|Periscope]] and [[Facebook features#Facebook Live|Facebook Live]] during a [[sit-in]] by House Democrats asking for a vote on gun control measures after the [[Orlando nightclub shooting]]. The sit-in was out of formal session and while the House was in official recess, so the existing House cameras could not be used to cover the event.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/cant-see-house-sit-c-span|title=Why You Can't See the House Sit-In on C-SPAN|last=Akin|first=Stephanie|date=June 22, 2016|work=[[Roll Call]]|access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2016/06/22/the-real-reason-c-span-cameras-arent-showing-democrats-gun-control-sit-in/|title=C-SPAN cameras couldn't show Democrats' gun control sit-in – so Democrats did it themselves|last=Phillips|first=Amber|date=June 23, 2016|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref> These live streams violated House rules on use of personal devices on the floor, which C-SPAN noted through on-air disclaimers.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/23/us/politics/house-democrats-stage-sit-in-to-push-for-action-on-gun-control.html|title=House Democrats' Gun-Control Sit-In Turns into Chaotic Showdown With Republicans|website=[[The New York Times]]|date=June 22, 2016 |last1=Herszenhorn |first1=David M. |last2=Huetteman |first2=Emmarie }}Herszenhorn</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://twitter.com/cspan/status/745643506786504704|title=@cspan: C-SPAN has no control over the U.S. House TV cameras.|date=June 22, 2016|work=Tweet|publisher=C-SPAN [[Twitter]] account|access-date=June 23, 2016}}</ref>

In January 2023, C-SPAN gained widespread attention for its broadcast of the [[January 2023 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives election|Speaker of the House vote]]. As the House was not in session, C-SPAN had been given permission for its cameras to roam the House floor, and capture new angles in addition to the often-permitted wide-angle and speaker close-up. After [[Kevin McCarthy]] was confirmed as Speaker, camera permissions reverted to what had previously been permitted.<ref>{{cite news |last1=DeChalus |first1=Camila |title=With the House in chaos, C-SPAN shows footage Americans don't usually see |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/01/05/c-span-cameras-house-speaker-vote/?&wpisrc=nl_evening&carta-url=https%3A%2F%2Fs2.washingtonpost.com%2Fcar-ln-tr%2F38bc806%2F63b74897ef9bf67b234c8422%2F596d08e2ade4e24119db5461%2F12%2F51%2F63b74897ef9bf67b234c8422&wp_cu=466552ee2313957ce7b379e29fbed753%7CF0F747E7294BBEAAE040007F01004453 |access-date=January 12, 2023 |newspaper=Washington Post |date=January 5, 2023}}</ref>