KNOXVILLE — Knoxville residents and students will have the opportunity to join the thousands who have toured C-SPAN’s Campaign 2008 Bus when it stops at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, on Friday, May 9.
The bus will park on the Cumberland side of the University Center, near the front steps, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Also on May 9, prior to its visit to the UT campus, the C-SPAN Campaign Bus will be at Farragut Middle School to honor 14 students who won national recognition for their StudentCam documentaries. Officials from UT’s Howard H. Baker Jr. Center for Public Policy arranged for the middle school students to interview former U.S. Sen. Bill Frist when he spoke on campus about Africa. They attended his talk and then filmed an interview with him. C-SPAN representatives will be presenting the students their awards at 9 a.m.
Then, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, May 10, the bus will be parked at Market Street and Union Avenue, across from Market Square in downtown Knoxville.
The public is invited to visit the C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus during both the UT and downtown stops.
The events, held in partnership with Comcast, are part of C-SPAN’s inaugural “Road to the White House” bus tour, named after C-SPAN’s renowned political program that marks its 20th year on the air.
The 45-foot mobile production studio is on the campaign trail to promote and enhance C-SPAN’s political coverage, traveling to major political events such as candidate debates and speeches in early primary states, touring state capitals and conducting educational programs for teachers and students.
Since its January 2007 launch, the bus has been to 43 state capitals and 150 schools, where 278 elected officials, 2,750 teachers and 21,650 students have been onboard.
“With interest in presidential politics growing, we’re thrilled to be on the road with the Campaign 2008 Bus,” said C-SPAN Marketing Representative Rodee Schneider. “As the political network of record, C-SPAN offers a variety of resources for educators, students, first-time voters and the general public as part of our extensive coverage of the 2008 presidential elections.”
A revamped version of the network’s award-winning School Bus, the Campaign 2008 Bus sports a new exterior design wrap in election themes, along with interior modifications that include the latest television production equipment.
Look for C-SPAN’s political coverage on the C-SPAN networks, C-SPAN Radio, c-span.org, or the one-stop 2008 election Web site, http://www.c-span.org/Politics/.
In the Knoxville area, on Comcast cable, C-SPAN can be seen on Channel 98, C-SPAN2 on Channel 104 and C-SPAN3 on Channel 105.
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 90 million households, C-SPAN2 in 82 million households and C-SPAN3 in more than 13 million households nationwide. For more information about C-SPAN, visit http://www.c-span.org.
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Contact:
Amy Blakely, (865) 974-5034, amy.blakely@tennessee.edu