To most casual observers, Brian Lamb is the Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network (C-SPAN). In his mind, however, nothing could be farther from the truth. Lamb always attributes the existence of the network and its continued success to others. The others are the cable industry, leaders within it, members of the House of Representatives and the Senate who made it possible for the network to carry the signal they controlled, C-SPAN staffers at all levels, and the public itself. Despite his protests, Lamb made C-SPAN happen. Now chairman and CEO of the network, he was the matchmaker who brought Congress and the cable industry together.

     A native of Lafayette Indiana, Lamb attended Purdue University in his hometown. There he majored in speech because the school did not offer a degree in broadcasting. After completing his degree Lamb spent three days in law school by his account and then entered the navy. During the Johnson presidency he was assigned to duty in the nation's capital where he reported to the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. There he witnessed both network broadcasters and Pentagon officials at work shaping the news. His duty in Washington also took him to the White House as social aide.

     After leaving the service he worked briefly as a freelancer for UPI Audio. He later served as a press secretary for Senator Peter Dominick (R-Colorado). An appointment as a staffer in the office of the Director of Telecommunications Policy during the Nixon administration followed. Lamb's Washington experiences taught him to be wary of what constituted news on the three broadcast networks. To him they made the nation seem like a three-newspaper town.

     In the mid-1970s, Lamb moved from the world of pragmatic politics to trade journalism. While serving as Washington bureau chief for Cablevision magazine, opportunity met an idea. In 1977 he took a 50 percent salary cut going half time with Cablevision in order to start "Cable Video." It brought 15-minute interviews with members of Congress to over a dozen cable outlets. Lamb wanted to broaden access to the political process. The cable industry needed to enhance its reputation and had a delivery system suited to his goals. The House of Representatives had been exploring the possibility of telecasting floor sessions but was wary of sound bite journalism. Lamb's willingness to carry the signal of House-directed television cameras full time, the industry's access to the satellite, and his drive made C-SPAN happen.

     C-SPAN took to the air in 1979. From the outset key industry leaders made funding possible. Especially during the pivotal developmental years they kept cable system owners from abandoning a non-money making enterprise in favor of profit-producing channels. In 1986 C-SPAN 2 came on line, providing viewers with access to Senate proceedings. A third channel devoted to public affairs was launched on a 24-hour basis in 2001. It brought C-SPAN into the digital world. Some argue that what C-SPAN does is not journalism, claiming it only supplies raw material for journalists, despite the fact that the National Press Club honored Lamb for his lifelong contributions to American journalism in 2002. Whether it is called journalism or not does not matter. Public access to governmental affairs does. Legislation like the must-carry rules, the rapid changes in technology, and the vagaries of the political world matter to Lamb too.

     Traces of Brian Lamb's influence can be found in all of C-SPAN's on-air formats. Gavel-to-gavel coverage came first, but it was quickly followed by programming designed to give citizens direct access to elected officials, other decision makers and journalists. Within a year of the start of the network, Lamb introduced viewers to call-in programming C-SPAN style. He hosted most of the early shows in this format. There the model of what became the network's approach to audience interaction programs developed. There Lamb perfected his interviewing style. As he saw it, the task involved promoting informed discussion between the guest and viewers and then staying out of the way of the ensuing dialogue. His would be a different kind of journalism. The style would be conversational not confrontational. No "gotcha" questions would be heard on C-SPAN. Lamb can still be seen at least once a week on The Washington Journal, C-SPAN's daily call-in program, where his demeanor on air led one viewer to address him as "O Great Poker Face." Committed to the style Lamb developed, the network regularly conducts in-house meetings to make sure that hosts stay out of the way of the conversations and that camera operators support that approach.

     No other programming format reveals Lamb's persona better than Booknotes. The network experimented with the idea of book-related programs in fall of 1988, when Lamb interviewed Neil Sheehan, the author of Bright Shining Lie. Within a year, Booknotes became part of C-SPAN's regular programming. Lamb set the ground rules for the program. He would choose serious nonfiction books that might help viewers better understand U.S. history or contemporary politics. Not afraid to ask the most simple or most esoteric question, every interview makes it clear that Lamb has read the book. In the book world, the program has had a great effect. At C-SPAN it led to the development of "a network within a network," Book TY. As a result of the series, Lamb edited a number of books based on the interviews.

Modest about his accomplishments, Lamb has brought together a loyal group of executives, most of whom joined C-SPAN early in their careers. Like Lamb they stay out of the public eye and several appear on air. He constantly gives them credit for the network's success. Brian Lamb believes that C-SPAN is more than one person. For many observers, however, he is C-SPAN.