C-SPAN: 25 YEARS VIEWER CALL-IN CONTEST

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jennifer Moire
(202) 626-8797
jmoire@c-span.org

WINNERS NAMED IN C-SPAN VIEWER ESSAY CONTEST MARKING 25 YEARS OF VIEWER CALLS
17-Year Old Grand Prize Winner from Ormand Beach, Fla. to Co-Host Live, 25-Hour Call-In Marathon on Saturday, October 8 at 7 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (September 28, 2005) -- C-SPAN announced 25 winners today in a national essay contest commemorating 25 years of viewer calls-ins on the network. The 25 winners will be featured in every hour of C-SPAN's live, 25-Hour Call-In Marathon that kicks-off on Friday, October 7 at 8 p.m. ET and ends on Saturday, October 8 at 9 p.m. ET

Erika Barger, a senior at Sea Breeze High School in Ormand Beach, Fla, is the grand prize winner. Barger receives a trip to Washington, D.C. to co-host a segment of the special anniversary program on Saturday, October 8 from 7-8 p.m. ET. She will join host Brian Lamb and scheduled guests Frank Rich of the New York Times and The Weekly Standard's William Kristol for a discussion on the war in Iraq.

"We wanted to hear from viewers about why they watch or participate in call-ins on C-SPAN," said Brian Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN. "Viewers of all ages and walks of life wrote to us, including actresses, stand-up comics, parents and students. What's clear after reading the entries is the impact that call-ins have had on the network and in shaping the political debate."

C-SPAN launched television's first-ever regularly scheduled national viewer call-in program on October 7, 1980 from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. Over 25 years, the network has aired more than 500,000 calls, produced more than 46,000 call-in segments and featured 12,000 individual guests.

Taped interviews with the 24 winners will air during each hour of the 25-hour program, culminating with Barger's appearance. The 24 winners, how they access C-SPAN, and the scheduled air times for their interviews are:

Carole Troll
Woodhaven, NY
Friday, 8 p.m. ET

Barrett Kalellis
Pinckney, MI
Charter Communications
Friday, 9 p.m. ET

Kathleen Holowach
El Cajon, Calif.
Cox
Friday, 10 p.m. ET

Scott Gray
Birmingham, AL
Charter Communications
Friday, 11 p.m. ET

Joel L. Steinberg
Fairfax Station, Va.
c-span.org
Friday, Midnight

Mary McGinnis
Rupert, ID
Project Mutual Telephone
Saturday, 1 a.m. ET

Ron LueDecke
Palms, Calif.
Comcast
Saturday, 2 a.m. ET

Anthony Lee
Berkeley, Calif.
Comcast
Saturday, 3 a.m. ET

Patrick Turner
Hermosa Beach, Calif.
Adelphia
Saturday, 4 a.m. ET

Christina Carlson
Lihue, HI
Oceanic
Saturday, 5 a.m. ET

Maria Lyda
Tulsa, OK
Cox
Saturday, 6 a.m. ET

Joe Martin
Oceanside, Calif.
Cox
Saturday, 7 a.m. ET

Judy Hammond
Alachua, FL
Communicom
Saturday, 8 a.m. ET

Kathleen O'Donnell
Keene, NH
Time Warner
Saturday, 9 a.m. ET

Dain Pascocello
Hopewell Junction, NY
Cablevision
Saturday, 10 a.m. ET

Carolyn Ross
Oxford, MS
Vista III Media
Saturday, 11 a.m. ET

Robert Meehan
Houston, TX
Time Warner
Saturday, Noon ET

Stephanie Clemens
State College, PA
Adelphia
Saturday, 1 p.m. ET

Robert Ewoldt
Chicago, IL
c-span.org
Saturday, 2 p.m. ET

Andrew Ohmer
Indianapolis
Comcast
Saturday, 3 p.m. ET

Krystal Reyes
Moline, IL
Satellite Radio
Saturday, 4 p.m. ET

Cesar Muedas
Brentwood, Tenn.
Comcast
Saturday, 5 p.m. ET

Diane Shockey
Gaylord, MI
Charter
Saturday, 5 p.m. ET

Andrew Emerson
Dallas, TX
Comcast
Saturday, 6 p.m. ET

The essays were judged by a panel of C-SPAN employees and evaluated based on their creativity, quality of expression and relationship to call-in theme. A complete list of winners and essays is available online at www.c-span.org.

Each hour of the live, 25-Hour Call-In Marathon will look sequentially at key events from each year in recent history starting with 1980. Every hour will include interviews with guests who helped shape or cover the highlighted event, archival video, statistics from the spotlighted year and of course, viewer calls. An hour-by-hour list of topics and guests is also available at www.c-span.org by clicking on the "25 Years of Viewer Calls" icon.

C-SPAN, the political network of record, was created in 1979 by America's cable companies as a public service. C-SPAN is currently available in 89.4 million households. For more information about C-SPAN, visit www.c-span.org.

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ONLINE PRESS KIT >>

Contest Winners
Read the essays of the 25 contest winners.

Press Releases
Sep. 28, 2005 -- Winners Named in C-SPAN Viewer Essay Contest Marking 25 Years of Viewer Calls

Sep. 14, 2005 -- C-SPAN Marks 25 Years Of Viewer Calls-Ins With LIVE, 25-Hour Call-In Program On Oct. 7

Aug. 17, 2005 -- C-SPAN Marks 25 Years Of Viewer Calls-Ins With LIVE, 25-Hour Call-In Program On Oct. 7

News Articles
The Courier-Journal (Louisville, KY) - Oct. 10, 2005
Talkers Magazine - Cover Story Oct. 2005
Jewish World Review - Columnist David Brooks, Nov. 1999

History of Call-Ins on Radio and Television
A timeline of call-in programs

Evolution of Call-Ins on C-SPAN
A timeline of call-in programs at C-SPAN

More about C-SPAN's 25 Years of Viewer Call-Ins
Background information on C-SPAN call-in programs

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Send e-mails to C-SPAN