C-SPAN ACTIVITIES

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In the 1980s a new term or designation entered the vocabulary of media and it was called "C-SPAN Junkie." Professor Don Corrigan is one of the original addicts of the cable television operation out of Washington, D.C., known as C-SPAN. He has used C-SPAN videotapes to supplement his work in the classroom at every opportunity. Corrigan first attended a C-SPAN Professors Seminar in January of 1993 and was awarded a C-SPAN grant for a teaching project using tapes of C-SPAN programs. The result of that grant was a course, "Free Speech and the First Amendment," which incorporated excerpts from C-SPAN tapes for every class session.

In 1995, Corrigan was selected to be a presenter for a C-SPAN professors group and he was awarded a C-SPAN video grant to do further research on ideas for using C-SPAN material in the classroom. "Using C-SPAN To Teach First Amendment Issues," a paper authored by Corrigan in 1994, has been used by professors at other institutions who have been interested in supplementing coursework with C-SPAN materials. Corrigan continues to use C-SPAN for any number of courses which he teaches. He is especially fond of excerpts of proceedings of Congress and Booknotes program tapes of journalists who have become authors in their areas of expertise.