“…for C-Span.” The current system fixes the cameras on the floor podium and Speaker’s dais, which adequately covers the ostensible reason for C-Span coverage. Allowing the cameras to pan out from there… well, this means three things will happen:
- More candid shots of Members of Congress picking their nose.
- More temptations for outside groups to disrupt the proceedings with staged antics.
Both of these are merely aesthetic issues, and easily survivable. But here’s the real problem:
- Control over the cameras means that C-Span gets a vote in deciding what is newsworthy.
I find that I don’t want C-Span’s input on that, actually. They do an excellent job of presenting the actual business of the government with a calm, impartial eye; I don’t want them having on the spot editorial authority.
Moe Lane
PS: Yup, they do commentary. And opinion pieces. But they don’t get to muck about with the raw feed.
Gonna have to disagree with you on this one, Moe. There should be more cameras, they should be always on, and the feeds from all of them should be available on the interweb, not just whatever feed the producer picked. In fact, they should be archived and accessible forever.
Skip, I could live with more cameras if the angle on them was fixed and all the footage was kept. I just don’t want there to be the temptation there for C-Span to start playing around with how they’re showing the news.
Not to mention the talking head left would have expanded opportunities for distortion, lies and whisper campaigns. So NO!