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MURFREESBORO -- A 45-foot customized bus will bring the exciting worlds of politics and mass communication to MTSU as C-SPAN's "Southern Swing" makes a stop in Murfreesboro.
The bus and its interactive exhibits will be accessible from 12:30 to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 16, in the parking lot of the Paul W. Martin Sr. Honors Building. Access to the bus is free and open to the public.
Two MTSU classes also will hear from C-SPAN representatives about their work. Ken Blake, a professor in the MTSU School of Journalism and Strategic Media, is pleased the juniors and seniors in his Journalism 3090 course will get to hear directly from C-SPAN professionals discussing the real-world reporting skills he teaches in his class.
"I think it's very important for them to get a firsthand look at a professional news organization and understand at least one sliver of the field they are going into in a short amount of time," Blake said. "It's always good to get a look at media professionals doing what they do."
C-SPAN's "Southern Swing" is an eight-week excursion through Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico and Arizona. Since 1993, C-SPAN has dispatched a bus for cross-country trips and visits to schools and community events.
The high-tech bus includes:
• Access to an exclusive interactive experience available on 11 large-screen tablets featuring C-SPAN programming and a myriad of political and educational resources;
• A smart TV and classroom area for conversations with students and teachers;
• A high-definition TV production studio for taped and live programming;
• A 360-degree video station featuring C-SPAN's unfiltered coverage of high-profile events and insightful, behind-the-scenes tours of U.S. landmarks;
• A D.C.-themed selfie station where visitors can share their bus experiences through social media.
"We are excited for the opportunity to meet, engage and share our resources with residents along our 'Southern Swing' and hearing from people about what being an American means to them," said Heath Neiderer, C-SPAN marketing manager.
"We hope they enjoy their experience aboard our interactive mobile classroom and discover new ways of keeping well-informed," Neiderer said.
Off-campus visitors attending the event should obtain a special one-day permit from MTSU's Office of Parking and Transportation at 1403 E. Main St. or online at http://www.mtsu.edu/parking/visit.php. A searchable campus parking map is available at http://tinyurl.com/MTSUParkingMap.
C-SPAN, short for Cable-Satellite Public Affairs Network, celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. It airs live coverage of the Congress, interviews with prominent authors and in-depth coverage of other events that bring the public closer to the inner workings of their democracy. The commercial-free public service is funded by cable and satellite TV companies.
In Murfreesboro, Comcast provides C-SPAN programming on channels 7 and 1128; C-SPAN2 on channels 100 and 1129; C-SPAN3 on channels 105 and 1130; and on the web at www.C-SPAN.org.
For more information, contact Cathy Sgambati, MTSU public relations specialist, at 6156-898-5348 or cathy.sgambati@mtsu.edu.
