54. Spanning America

Rob Kennedy and Susan Swain
Titles: Pres/co-COO, C-SPAN

Why them? It has been a busy year for Swain and Kennedy, with C-SPAN adding more content and initiatives to an already full plate. C-SPAN’s critically acclaimed, first HD project “The Capitol” is the most extensive video documentary ever made about the Capitol. And proving that C-SPAN is hipper than many give it credit for, the series also became the net’s first video podcast. Swain and Kennedy have overseen launches of several new shows—“The Communicators” (the only program out there examining telecom policy), “Newsmakers” and “After Words,”—and, of course, affiliate outreach. This year, C-SPAN launched the Book TV bus, part of nearly 300 events co-sponsored by cable operators.

What About Brian? Brian Lamb doesn’t want the accolades, but he continues to push C-SPAN to exploit tech. It was Lamb who really pressed for the net to do “The Capitol” in HD, even though C-SPAN isn’t an HD net. Cable operators reaped the benefit, with the series being made available this fall on HD VOD. - AM

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