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| C-Span, Gun Control and a Protest Made for Streaming | C-Span, Gun Control and a Protest Made for Streaming |
| (about 9 hours later) | |
| For one day and night, the hottest drama on cable was on C-Span. | For one day and night, the hottest drama on cable was on C-Span. |
| The Democratic sit-in over gun-control legislation, captured mainly by House members’ smartphone video, had all the elements: emotion, chaos, conflict, life-or-death stakes and the frisson of unpredictable reality. But television cannot claim credit for the show alone; it was a coproduction with social media. | The Democratic sit-in over gun-control legislation, captured mainly by House members’ smartphone video, had all the elements: emotion, chaos, conflict, life-or-death stakes and the frisson of unpredictable reality. But television cannot claim credit for the show alone; it was a coproduction with social media. |
| The broadcast, like much memorable live TV, was arresting not simply for what it was showing but also for the fact that we were able to see it at all. | The broadcast, like much memorable live TV, was arresting not simply for what it was showing but also for the fact that we were able to see it at all. |
| As yesterday’s protests reminded us, the congressional leadership, not C-Span, controls the cameras. When the Democrats occupied the House floor Wednesday afternoon, to attempt to pressure the Republican majority into a vote, Speaker Paul D. Ryan took the House out of session and the video was cut off. | As yesterday’s protests reminded us, the congressional leadership, not C-Span, controls the cameras. When the Democrats occupied the House floor Wednesday afternoon, to attempt to pressure the Republican majority into a vote, Speaker Paul D. Ryan took the House out of session and the video was cut off. |
| Word of the protest began to leak on social media. The public-affairs network — not generally known for guerrilla journalism techniques — began to improvise. | Word of the protest began to leak on social media. The public-affairs network — not generally known for guerrilla journalism techniques — began to improvise. |
| It turned to another screen, airing a tweet by an NBC News producer showing the section of the House rule book that gives the speaker control of the video feed. “HOUSE CAMERAS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SHOW SIT-IN,” read the on-air chyrons, and “CAMERAS IN CHAMBER CONTROLLED BY HOUSE,” as if the network were staging its own sotto voce protest through graphics. | It turned to another screen, airing a tweet by an NBC News producer showing the section of the House rule book that gives the speaker control of the video feed. “HOUSE CAMERAS ARE NOT PERMITTED TO SHOW SIT-IN,” read the on-air chyrons, and “CAMERAS IN CHAMBER CONTROLLED BY HOUSE,” as if the network were staging its own sotto voce protest through graphics. |
| In ancient times — say, 2008, when Republicans staged a similar occupation — the story might have fizzled there. Now, millions of us carry mobile live video units in our pockets. (Or in the case of the Illinois Representative Tammy Duckworth, inside her leg prosthetics, in which she reportedly hid her phone so it could not be seized.) | In ancient times — say, 2008, when Republicans staged a similar occupation — the story might have fizzled there. Now, millions of us carry mobile live video units in our pockets. (Or in the case of the Illinois Representative Tammy Duckworth, inside her leg prosthetics, in which she reportedly hid her phone so it could not be seized.) |
| Essentially, C-Span turned the screens of America into giant iPhones, picking up the live feeds that representatives shot on Periscope, Facebook Live and other social platforms. | Essentially, C-Span turned the screens of America into giant iPhones, picking up the live feeds that representatives shot on Periscope, Facebook Live and other social platforms. |
| The video was grainy, balky and awkwardly framed — which only added to the samizdat, you-are-there electricity of the broadcast. Representatives gave fiery speeches and held up the names of shooting victims printed on office paper; others wandered in and out of the camera shots. It was both theatrical performance and fly-on-the-wall reality; a little “West Wing,” a little “Big Brother.” | The video was grainy, balky and awkwardly framed — which only added to the samizdat, you-are-there electricity of the broadcast. Representatives gave fiery speeches and held up the names of shooting victims printed on office paper; others wandered in and out of the camera shots. It was both theatrical performance and fly-on-the-wall reality; a little “West Wing,” a little “Big Brother.” |
| The amateurishness of the visuals in itself added a layer of message. The smartphones were not just broadcasting speeches, they were proclaiming the fact that those speeches were not being shown through the usual channels. | The amateurishness of the visuals in itself added a layer of message. The smartphones were not just broadcasting speeches, they were proclaiming the fact that those speeches were not being shown through the usual channels. |
| Television drama needs an antagonist, of course, and the mechanics of the event cast Mr. Ryan in that role. First he was offstage, an unseen force — the old dramatist’s trick of keeping the Big Bad offstage to build his mystique. When he returned to the floor Wednesday night, the drama had been primed, and the room erupted. | Television drama needs an antagonist, of course, and the mechanics of the event cast Mr. Ryan in that role. First he was offstage, an unseen force — the old dramatist’s trick of keeping the Big Bad offstage to build his mystique. When he returned to the floor Wednesday night, the drama had been primed, and the room erupted. |
| But Mr. Ryan took the stage less as a swaggering adversary than a beleaguered middle manager in a workplace cringe comedy. Between this unwanted spectacle and his awkward endorsement of Donald J. Trump, Mr. Ryan has been a televisual dictionary of discomfort this political season. As he tried to speak over the chanting — “No bill, no break!” — he cast his eyes down and folded his hands, his body language seeming to say he wanted to disappear, at least until November. | But Mr. Ryan took the stage less as a swaggering adversary than a beleaguered middle manager in a workplace cringe comedy. Between this unwanted spectacle and his awkward endorsement of Donald J. Trump, Mr. Ryan has been a televisual dictionary of discomfort this political season. As he tried to speak over the chanting — “No bill, no break!” — he cast his eyes down and folded his hands, his body language seeming to say he wanted to disappear, at least until November. |
| If the protest was conducted through social media, so was the pushback. As befits an election season in which Hillary Clinton and Mr. Trump have been campaigning through sick burns on Twitter, Mr. Ryan tweeted a response: “Retweet if you agree —> The sit-in by House Democrats is nothing more than a publicity stunt. #StopTheStunt.” | |
| Protests are publicity stunts by definition. They often have a concrete goal — here, action on gun legislation — but they also seek attention, to a matter that someone else would prefer got less attention. | Protests are publicity stunts by definition. They often have a concrete goal — here, action on gun legislation — but they also seek attention, to a matter that someone else would prefer got less attention. |
| That technique was not invented by a smartphone app, as we were reminded by seeing the civil rights movement veteran Representative John Lewis at the head of the sit-in. But protests were once about luring the cameras to you. | That technique was not invented by a smartphone app, as we were reminded by seeing the civil rights movement veteran Representative John Lewis at the head of the sit-in. But protests were once about luring the cameras to you. |
| Now legacy and social media amplify each other. The online world is like a collective field producer, calling attention to stories and curating moments. Television picks up on these stories — and the fact that the news makes the leap from social to mass media becomes part of the news in itself. | Now legacy and social media amplify each other. The online world is like a collective field producer, calling attention to stories and curating moments. Television picks up on these stories — and the fact that the news makes the leap from social to mass media becomes part of the news in itself. |
| All this put C-Span in an unusual position, carrying a news event shot from the perspective of an interested party. But it was news, and another interested party controlled the usual television cameras. There was no party-neutral decision to be made here, but there was a journalistic one, and C-Span made it. | All this put C-Span in an unusual position, carrying a news event shot from the perspective of an interested party. But it was news, and another interested party controlled the usual television cameras. There was no party-neutral decision to be made here, but there was a journalistic one, and C-Span made it. |
| Almost certainly this sort of thing will happen again. There will be more seasons of this new anthology series, perhaps about different issues and packaged by new producers. | Almost certainly this sort of thing will happen again. There will be more seasons of this new anthology series, perhaps about different issues and packaged by new producers. |
| Thursday morning, C-Span was still carrying Democratic speeches from the floor, though Mr. Ryan, overnight, had gotten the House to break for its recess, pushing through a final vote on an appropriations bill. “Members,” he said, “will record their vote by electronic device.” | Thursday morning, C-Span was still carrying Democratic speeches from the floor, though Mr. Ryan, overnight, had gotten the House to break for its recess, pushing through a final vote on an appropriations bill. “Members,” he said, “will record their vote by electronic device.” |
| But in a way, they already had. | But in a way, they already had. |