[VIDEO] Behind the Scenes of a Presidential Primary
It’s Super Tuesday. The nation is sitting on the edge of its collective seat waiting to find out who will run in the upcoming Presidential election. The act of delivering televised coverage of this near-national political events is an extraordinary challenge, but the 24 hour news networks that cover it make it look easy. We should know – we were lucky enough to see it all unfold for ourselves when we followed C-SPAN earlier in February as they covered the New Hampshire Primary. With video crew in tow, we joined C-SPAN hoping to capture the story of how a Presidential Primary is covered by a
How People Watch Television Today
Do you remember last fall, when the season premieres of some of our favorite shows beckoned for us to find out what would happen next after the previous season’s cliffhanger? Do you remember anxiously trying to get home in time for the start of it, or finding ways to rearrange your schedule around it? Chances are, you didn’t even sweat it. According to Adobe Digital Index’s “Q4 Digital Video Benchmark” report, overall growth in TV Everywhere video viewing doubled year-over-year. In other words, people are enjoying their freedom to watch television on their own terms, whenever and wherever they
Hollywood Creative Forum: Encouraging Diversity in Television Programming
Black History Month may be nearing its end, but every year it’s a good reminder that we must continue to strive for more representation of underrepresented groups on the screen and behind the scenes of our favorite shows. The inclusion and positive portrayal of women and minorities on television and media not only recognizes our diverse viewership, but also sends the message that people of all classes, races, ethnicities, and sexual orientation need to be seen and heard in order for us to accomplish great things. Some of the brightest and most talented writers, creators, producers and
What It Takes to Bring Us Our Favorite Shows
We’re almost two months into 2016, and many of us are anxious for some of our favorite shows to premiere their long-awaited seasons later this Spring. Having gone to CES 2016 for the first time this past January, I can’t help but look at some of the cinematography with a new-found appreciation as an episode of Game of Thrones or Fear The Walking Dead unfolds on the screen. The entertainment that shows like this provide during that brief one-hour period of our day took an enormous amount of effort and money to bring to fruition. From the creative scripting to the actors’ talent to the equipment
Covering the Coverage: Following C-SPAN on the Campaign Trail
Politics is a little bit like baseball: long stretches of time where seemingly nothing happens punctuated by extreme moments of panic and harried action; small, calculated decisions and acutely prioritized efforts that eventually add up to a win or a loss that could, at any, moment go either way. Where they differ is timing. Baseball can in theory go on forever, where in politics a time must come for voters to vote and the event to be over. NCTA joined C-SPAN earlier this week as they covered the “First-in-the-Nation” New Hampshire Primary. We joined because we wanted to better understand what
Aboard the C-SPAN Bus During the New Hampshire Primary
On a chilly morning this past Sunday in Plymouth, New Hampshire, people filed quickly through a parking lot, some of them wearing their “Make America Great Again” hats in support of Republican candidate Donald Trump. They were there to see Trump as he continued his presidential campaign two days before the state’s primary. Supporters, opposers and neutral citizens alike couldn’t walk towards the college athletic center where the presidential hopeful would kick off his rally without seeing the large C-SPAN Campaign 2016 bus, decked out in red white and blue. It’s hard not to be curious or
Covering a Presidential Primary: Interview with C-SPAN Co-President and Co-CEO Susan Swain
In an era in which apps, social media and TV Everywhere have given us instant access to political events that we didn’t have before, how the media covers presidential candidates in the primaries has never been more important. With talking heads and pundits galore, a voter’s opinion can easily be swayed with a mere comment, camera angle, or video editing technique. That’s why a network like C-SPAN, which abstains from commentary, is all the more fascinating, as we explained on Friday. As we continue our bus trip today with the network around New Hampshire on the eve of the primary, we’d like to
Sunday Isn’t Just the Super Bowl of Football
Super Bowl 50. It has a nice ring to it. It’s the culmination of not only another grueling NFL season filled with highs, lows, hits, and wins, but of the immense efforts of both individuals and of teams. The Super Bowl is the best of the best versus the best of the best and over the last fifty years has earned its place (though unofficially) as an American holiday. But it’s not the only such paramount event happening this week. There’s another peak grueling battle that Americans are intensely focused on. It’s the New Hampshire Primary and for Democracy lovers and political wonks alike, it’s
LGBT Inclusiveness and Diversity Define Storytelling on Cable
The Oscars are coming up soon, but this year the headlines haven’t been all glitz and glam. The lack of nominations for people of color, women and LGBT groups caused quite a stir, and while the Academy responded by promising to increase the diversity of its board of members , the situation has reminded us about the message that comes across when underrepresented groups fail to be recognized in media and entertainment. In another recent headline, Disney Channel’s teen actress of Girl Meets World, Rowan Blanchard, also challenged the status quo on her channel earlier this month on LGBT
What Does the FCC Know that Apple, Netflix, and Roku Don’t?
TV today is trending for consumers. We’re experiencing an incredible programming renaissance where both the quality and quantity of shows is better than ever before and only improving. We’re also living through a tectonic technology shift that rivals the invention of broadcasting, leveraging rapidly expanding app marketplaces, ubiquitous connectivity and ever shrinking portable screens to deliver limitless television where, when and how we want it. We see these innovations almost daily, which is why it’s so strange that government feels compelled to insert itself in the mix in order to do Big