C-SPAN

===Public affairs===
The public affairs coverage on the C-SPAN networks other than the House and Senate floor debates is wide-ranging. C-SPAN is considered a useful source of information for journalists, lobbyists, educators and government officials as well as casual viewers interested in politics, due to its unedited coverage of political events.<ref name=Wallace/> C-SPAN has been described by media observers as a "window into the world of Washington politics" and it characterizes its own mission as being "to provide public access to the political process".<ref name=Harrington/><ref name=AboutC-SPAN>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-span.org/About/About-C-SPAN/ | title=About C-SPAN |work=c-span.org |publisher=C-SPAN | access-date=January 25, 2011}}</ref> The networks cover U.S. political campaigns, including the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]], [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]], and [[Libertarian Party (United States)|Libertarian]] [[United States presidential nominating convention|presidential nominating conventions]] in their entirety. Coverage of presidential campaign events are provided during the duration of the campaign, both by a weekly television program, ''[[Road to the White House]]'',<ref name=Hodges/> and at its dedicated politics website.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-span.org/politics/ |title=C-SPAN Politics |work=c-span.org |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=December 6, 2010}}</ref> C-SPAN also covers [[United States midterm elections|midterm elections]].<ref name=Rothstein10>{{cite web |url=https://www.adweek.com/digital/c-span-reaches-debate-milestone/ |title=C-SPAN Reaches Debate Milestone |first=Betsy |last=Rothstein |date=October 20, 2010 |work=[[Adweek]] |access-date=December 13, 2020}}</ref>

[[File:C-SPAN 112th Congress Roll Call.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.15|C-SPAN's [[High-definition television|HDTV]] coverage of the beginning of the [[112th United States Congress|112th Congress]] on January 5, 2011. The on-screen design seen here was used from April 19, 2010, to January 17, 2016.]]
All three channels televise events such as [[congressional hearing]]s,<ref name=Hodges/> [[The White House|White House]] press briefings and presidential speeches, as well as other government meetings including [[Federal Communications Commission]] hearings and [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]] press conferences.<ref name=Gillespie>{{cite web |url=http://reason.com/archives/2010/11/16/the-democratizer |title=The Democratizer |last=Gillespie |first=Nick |author-link=Nick Gillespie |date=December 2010 |work=reason.com |publisher=[[Reason (magazine)|Reason]] |access-date=November 22, 2010}}</ref> Other U.S. political coverage includes [[State of the Union]] speeches,<ref name=Ragsdale/> and presidential press conferences. According to the results of a survey after the [[1992 United States presidential election|1992 presidential election]], 85% of C-SPAN viewers voted in that election.<ref name=Harden>{{cite news |title=Feasting on C-SPAN; Diet of Public Affairs TV Puts Political Junkies Inside Beltway |first=Blaine|last=Harden |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-781215.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131105213902/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-781215.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 5, 2013 |date=May 9, 1996 |access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> The results of a similar survey in 2013 found that 89% of C-SPAN viewers voted in the 2012 presidential election.<ref name="JohnEggerton"/> In addition to this political coverage, the network broadcasts [[press conference]]s and meetings of various [[Mass media|news media]] and nonprofit organizations, including those at the [[National Press Club (USA)|National Press Club]],<ref name=Ragsdale/> public policy seminars and the [[White House Correspondents' Dinner]].<ref name="Harden"/> While C-SPAN does not have video access to the Supreme Court, the network has used the Court's audio recordings accompanied by still photographs of the justices and lawyers to cover the Court in session on significant cases, and has covered individual Supreme Court justices' speaking engagements.<ref name=Cohen>{{cite web |url=http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/10/08/c-spans-supreme-court-broadcasts-do-you-have-the-right-to-burn/ |title=C-SPAN's Supreme Court Broadcasts: Do You Have the Right to Burn the Flag? |first=Andrew |last=Cohen |date=October 8, 2010 |work=politicsdaily.com |publisher=[[AOL]] |access-date=October 11, 2010 |archive-date=October 5, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151005183859/http://www.politicsdaily.com/2010/10/08/c-spans-supreme-court-broadcasts-do-you-have-the-right-to-burn/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Occasionally, proceedings of the [[Parliament of Australia]], [[Parliament of Canada]], [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] (usually [[Prime Minister's Questions]] and the [[State Opening of Parliament]]) and other governments are shown on C-SPAN when they discuss matters of importance to viewers in the U.S.<ref>{{cite press release |title=BBC Parliament Goes Live on Digital Satellite |publisher=M2 Presswire |date=November 25, 1998}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/organization/40947 |title=Australian Parliament |work=c-span.org |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=July 16, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131020024547/http://www.c-spanvideo.org/organization/40947 |archive-date=October 20, 2013 |url-status=dead  }}</ref> Similarly, the networks will sometimes broadcast news reports from around the world when major events occur – for instance, C-SPAN broadcast [[CBC Television]] coverage of the [[September 11 attacks]].<ref name=Milestones/> C-SPAN also covers [[lying in state]] in the [[Capitol Rotunda]] and funerals of former presidents<ref name=Kubasik>{{cite news |title=Networks planning coverage of Nixon funeral |first=Ben|last=Kubasik |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=aGJWAAAAIBAJ&pg=4005,4621611 |newspaper=[[The Spokesman-Review]] |location=Spokane, Washington |date=April 26, 1994 |access-date=June 19, 2013}}</ref><ref name=Turegano>{{cite news |title=Television did its job as window on America's farewell to Reagan |first=Preston|last=Turegano |newspaper=[[The San Diego Union-Tribune]] |page=D-6 |url=http://w3.nexis.com/new/docview/getDocForCuiReq?lni=4CMN-XKJ0-TWDC-M3BB&csi=11811&oc=00240&perma=true |date=June 14, 2004 |access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> and other notable individuals.<ref name=Shannon>{{cite news |title=Lady Bird Johnson, former first lady, remembered at Texas funeral attended by 1,800 |first=Kelley |last=Shannon |agency=[[Associated Press]] |url=http://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/article_71f2ae93-5c8b-5cc4-b0d6-2894e1383a98.html |date=July 14, 2007 |access-date=May 22, 2013 |archive-date=August 1, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200801134924/https://www.iowastatedaily.com/news/article_71f2ae93-5c8b-5cc4-b0d6-2894e1383a98.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2005, C-SPAN covered [[Hurricane Katrina]] through [[NBC]] affiliate [[WDSU]] in [[New Orleans]], as well as coverage of [[Hurricane Ike]] via [[CBS]] affiliate [[KHOU]] in [[Houston]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Coverage of Gustav tops politics on Day 1 |first=John|last=Timpane |newspaper=[[The Philadelphia Inquirer]] |url=http://articles.philly.com/2008-09-02/news/25248177_1_c-span-coverage-convention-planners |date=September 2, 2008 |access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref> C-SPAN also carries CBC coverage during events that affect [[Canada|Canadians]], such as the [[Canadian federal elections]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.connect2canada.com/event/electionNight_2008/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112105321/http://www.connect2canada.com/event/electionNight_2008/  |archive-date=January 12, 2012 |title=Election night 2008 |work=Connect2Canada.com |publisher=Connect2Canada |access-date=December 7, 2010}}</ref> the [[death and state funeral of Pierre Trudeau]],<ref>{{cite video |date=October 3, 2000 |title=Former Prime Minister Trudeau Funeral |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Trudea |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=October 18, 2013}}</ref> and the [[2003 North America blackout]].<ref>{{cite video |date=August 14, 2003 |title=Northeastern Electricity Failures |url=http://c-spanvideo.org/program/Northeaste |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=October 18, 2013 |archive-date=October 17, 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131017060612/http://c-spanvideo.org/program/Northeaste |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite video |date=September 3, 2003 |title=Northeast Power Outages, Day 1 |url=http://c-spanvideo.org/program/Outage |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=October 18, 2013 |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031235723/http://c-spanvideo.org/program/Outage |url-status=dead }}</ref> During early 2011, C-SPAN carried broadcasts by [[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]] to cover the events in [[2011 Egyptian revolution|Egypt]], [[Tunisian revolution|Tunisia]], and other Arab nations.<ref name=Milestones/><ref name="Al Jazeera">{{cite web |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Qadha |title=Moammar Qadhafi Address |date=March 2, 2011 |work=c-spanvideo.org |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=March 15, 2011}}</ref> Additionally, C-SPAN simulcasts [[NASA]] Space Shuttle mission launches and landings live, using video footage and audio sourced from [[NASA TV]].<ref name=AlBawaba>{{cite news |title=E-Vision launches C-Span channel on its cable network |newspaper=[[Al Bawaba]] |url=http://www.albawaba.com/news/e-vision-launches-c-span-channel-its-cable-network |location=Amman, Jordan |date=June 11, 2009 |access-date=May 22, 2013}}</ref>

With its public affairs programming, C-SPAN intends to offer different viewpoints by allowing time for multiple opinions to be discussed on a given topic. For example, in 2004 C-SPAN intended to televise a speech by [[Holocaust]] [[historian]] [[Deborah Lipstadt]] adjacent to a speech by [[Holocaust denier]] [[David Irving]], who had [[Irving v Penguin Books Ltd|unsuccessfully sued Lipstadt]] for [[libel]] in the [[United Kingdom]] four years earlier; C-SPAN was criticized for its use of the word "balance" to describe the plan to cover both Lipstadt and Irving.<ref>{{cite web |title=C-SPAN's David Irving contretemps |url=http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/individuals/david_irving/irving_update_20050413.htm |date=April 13, 2005 |work=adl.org |publisher=[[Anti-Defamation League]] |access-date=July 29, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090801105915/http://www.adl.org/learn/extremism_in_america_updates/individuals/david_irving/irving_update_20050413.htm |archive-date=August 1, 2009 }}</ref><ref name=Cohen05>{{cite news |title=C-SPAN's Balance of the Absurd |first=Richard|last=Cohen |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A35346-2005Mar14.html |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=March 15, 2005 |access-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref> When Lipstadt ended media access to her speech, C-SPAN canceled coverage of both.<ref>{{cite web|title=Lipstadt/Irving Libel Trial |url=http://www.c-spanvideo.org/program/Lipst |work=c-spanvideo.org |publisher=C-SPAN |access-date=March 22, 2011}}</ref>

The network strives for [[Objectivity (journalism)|neutrality]] and a lack of [[bias]]; in all programming when on-camera hosts are present their role is simply to facilitate and explain proceedings to the viewer.<ref name=Barnhart/> Due to this policy, C-SPAN hosts do not state their names on television.<ref name="Wallace"/>