Breaking Down the Series

The records on this site were chosen for digitization because we hoped they would be the most useful to you! Here's a little bit of what each type of media offers:

Photographs

The photographs series is a collection of images captured by C-SPAN employees.  The subject matter is largely C-SPAN events, C-SPAN Bus tours, awards shows, and headshots of authors featured on Booknotes. 

 

A picture from the C-SPAN series

Press Releases

These records are announcements issued by C-SPAN to the press, detailing changes in the company or upcoming broadcasts.  They cover dates from 1984-2002 and are arranged chronologically.  The press releases offer a great overview of how C-SPAn as an organization grew over time.  They include announcements about new broadcast areas, management changes, as well as big events that were aired on C-SPAN.  If you're looking for a timeline of C-SPAN itself, this is a great place to go!

An example of a press release

Viewer Mail

These records are letters and faxes which were sent to C-SPAN by viewers. They generally contain reactions to the content, suggestions for possible shows, complaints, or additional tidbits.  It captures the overall national response to current events, politics, and social movements highlighted by C-SPAN.

 

*Please note that this series contains content that is offensive.  We have not censored any explicit language or content in the correspondence in order to most accurately maintain the records' integrity and fully represent the attitudes of C-SPAN's varied viewership.

A sample piece of viewer mail