Aunc.1680 net.news utzoo!decvax!duke!unc!smb Sat Jan 9 00:20:52 1982 TV vs. U.S. Congress The proceedings of the House of Representatives are filmed, and the feed is made available to the networks and the cable TV companies; some of the latter broadcast it live as "CSPAN". The camera crews are employees of the House, and are under instructions to keep the cameras on whoever has the floor; under no circumstances are they to pan around at folks who are sleeping, talking, or otherwise ignoring their esteemed colleagues. The Senate has declined to permit even this form of coverage. Committee meetings are under different rules; some sessions are filmed, but others are closed. It's rare for any Cabinet member to show up except at a committee meeting; this class of meeting usually is filmed unless national security is allegedly at stake. There has been criticism of the growing practice of Representatives sending copies of their speeches to their local TV stations; it's far more effective than reprints of the Congressional Record. The House also operates a TV studio, available to members who want to record a speech or some such. ----------------------------------------------------------------- gopher://quux.org/ conversion by John Goerzen of http://communication.ucsd.edu/A-News/ This Usenet Oldnews Archive article may be copied and distributed freely, provided: 1. There is no money collected for the text(s) of the articles. 2. The following notice remains appended to each copy: The Usenet Oldnews Archive: Compilation Copyright (C) 1981, 1996 Bruce Jones, Henry Spencer, David Wiseman.