During the U.S Representative speakership election that started on January 3rd, Cable-satellite Affairs Public (C-SPAN) used numerous cameras that were set up in the U.S Representative chamber. This was used to show the public what was going on with the Speakership throughout the 15 rounds of voting.  It was an event that caught the public attention and caused C-SPAN to rise in popularity.

Although they were able to see a rise in viewers from the cameras, the cameras that C-SPAN used would be taken away after the Speakership election. This as has caused numerous online talks about allowing the news network to access back to the cameras and even more rights to film what is going on in congress.

This has led to a legislation being worked on with numerous Democrat and Republican representatives such as Mark Pocan (WI-02nd-D), Matt Gaetz (FL-01st-R), Maxwell Frost (FL-10th-D), and etc. The legislation would be an amendment to the house rules that would allow for C-Span Cameras during a normal congress session. The Representatives share the same sentiment that the public has about the desire of allowing people to see what is happening in congress. As Mark Pocan said in an interview with WKOW News 27, “When it comes to having full access to the floor that C-Span has, absolutely. That should continue.”

It’s an important amendment as this would allow for C-Span to provide information not only to the public but also to other news sites as they rely on C-Span. In addition, this would allow for more transparency from the government as they would be able to see what type of policy is being pushed in congress. Creating a sense of a watchdog for the people as C-Span shows what is going in congress and allow people to take action based on information C-Span has.