As hard as it is to imagine, C-SPAN has not been around since the advent of television. The cable public affairs network debuted in 1979, throwing open the doors of government to curious Americans.

Thanks to its cameras covering the well of the U.S. House and the Senate each day and tracking congressional hearings and political events every week, Americans started getting the chance to follow their leaders in an up-close and personal way. The nightly news, then mostly confined to the three major networks, no longer was the only way voters could see elected leaders in action.

C-SPAN took Americans into the inner workings of Washington and state capitals, and exposed them to more than just the best-known leaders.

Today the network still allows the rest of the country in on government and politics in action. C-SPAN is a mainstay for many who wonder how Washington works. None of those advances would have been possible without Brian Lamb, the quiet, unassuming founder of the cable network. Lamb, who stepped down earlier this year from the network he launched 33 years ago, talked about transparency and the legacy of C-SPAN in a September interview with National Journal: “We have choice now. I think you’re better off as a person if you listen to all different sides.”

As the election unfolds, we see more of C-SPAN’s significance, not only at the recent conventions but on the stump and in its broadcasts of Senate candidate debates.

To be sure, there has been a flip side to the C-SPAN revolution. More ambitious politicians have realized the network provides them a way to get into our living rooms every day. But the larger good was served by the openness that C-SPAN spawned. And Lamb’s civility is a marker that other television hosts should hope to achieve. It’s easy to yell and scream your way to fame. It’s an entirely different game to take ideas seriously and bring them to the public.

Lamb’s retirement won’t diminish C-SPAN, nor will it mean he is going away. For now, he continues as a C-SPAN host. May we all continue to learn about how our government works and how our leaders think.

 

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