I admit it. I am addicted to CSPAN.
I don’t receive cable TV and I get my news from various sources. I don’t mind reading or watching news after the fact (as it’s sometimes better then) but I also enjoy real-time and unfiltered news. CSPAN fills that void.
Partially because of my political and government background and that it’s fascinating watching the Trump Administration get dissected and fall apart, but also because I’m applying for work, I’m passionately engrossed watching Senate confirmation hearings and White House press briefings.
In addition to my 100-plus Twitter list of White House reporters and watching CNN GO on Roku, CSPAN helps me gain awareness of Washington’s who’s who of players.
Many political reporters and White House correspondents use Twitter only to broadcast their own insights and investigations. Others recognize the power of sharing links and retweets. A smaller number of people will acknowledge you if you get on their radar.
In one example, I thanked a CNN roundtable of panelists.
@mviser @ktumulty @jmartNYT @amyewalter Watching this CNN #insidepolitics show from Massachusetts, just a note of thanks.
— Ari Herzog (@ariherzog) February 14, 2017
I quickly received a notification that Karen Tumulty and Jonathan Martin, political reporters for the Washington Post and New York Times, manually “liked” my tweet thanking them.
In another example, as I watched Sean Spicer call upon a reporter and not knowing his affiliation, and seeing that CSPAN showed that part of the room, I observed Jared Rizzi (representing a SiriusXM channel) tweeting from behind. We interacted in the past, so I asked him to help me identify a face. He responded seconds later.
@ariherzog Jon Decker, FOX Radio News
— Jared Rizzi (@JaredRizzi) February 14, 2017
A lot of people are distracted by this political chaos and the initial weeks of the presidency.
I’m not distracted. I’m very productive. In fact, if I watch or read the media too much, I get bored — and my creativity surges.
I don’t know where my (or the larger) political world is going but I’m enjoying the CSPAN ride through this new normal.
