C-SPAN

While I was working at the Campaigns and Elections conference a couple of weeks ago I befriended a JC Chamberlain, who is friends with the VP of Digital Media at C-SPAN, Barkley Kern.  Today I went on a personal, behind the scenes tour of C-SPAN's office on North Capitol Drive with Barkley.  I arrived  a little before 9:00 to meet with him.  After walking through some of the offices there we had a general chat introducing ourselves to each other, and a brief synopsis of what he does at C-SPAN.  Then we went on a tour through the rest of the facilities, and watched part of a live broadcast.  For anybody that was wondering, the image of the Capitol that is portrayed behind the broadcasts is real, not some green screen generated image.  C-SPAN's entire budget is around $60 million for the entire year, which I'm sure is drastically less than the other mass media channels.  I also recall Barkley mentioning how the New York Times' claim to, "All the news that's fit to print," is really just, "All the news that fits," as time and resources are limited.  Agreed.  After walking through all of their master control rooms, rooms filled with servers, and the multiple interview areas we headed back to his office to wrap up the meeting before his 10:30 meeting.  I was able to discuss with him some of my future plans, and the story behind the Dozer Scholarships.  I would like everyone in Cambridge to know that everyone I speak to is blown away by what we are able to accomplish for a community of our size, and there are a lot more people that know about our organization than before I came out here.  Keep it up!!  After concluding our meeting, I ventured over to the Capitol to walk around inside for a little bit, I opted to wait to take a tour at a later date, and wandered over to the Supreme Court instead.  There were several tables outside, mainly focused on the inhumane practice of capital punishment.  While inside I was able to read about the history of the construction of the Supreme Court building, I didn't realize that it wasn't constructed until 1935.  I was able to see the actual Courtroom, which is a pretty tightly constructed room, not very much distance between the Justices and the arguing attorneys.  I left to wander about the area just Southeast of the Capitol, and stopped at We, The Pizza restaurant for lunch.  I had the Notorious BBQ slice with an Orange Crush, and sat in the outside dining area with a Library of Congress visible in the distance.  I doubled back to the RAF to attend a lecture from a couple of individuals who have participated on multiple campaign staffs.  One of the individuals works at a company that helps non-profits, we exchanged contact information after the meeting, and I may be working with him on some future projects.  Keenan, Jon, and I went over to an outside basketball court this afternoon and ran it for a couple of hours.  Back at the RAF now to study for my mid-term tomorrow, wish me luck!