Public affairs (broadcasting): Difference between revisions

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Public affairs, a broadcasting industry term, refers to television programs which focuses on matters of politics and public policy. Among commercial broadcasters, such programs are often only to satisfy Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory expectations and are not scheduled in prime time. Public affairs television programs are usually broadcast at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake) in the U.S., in time slots known as graveyard slots; such programs can be frequently encountered at times such as 5-6 a.m. on a Sunday morning.

Public affairs coverage is carried as digital subchannels of existing state network Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) member public television stations.

Government-access television (GATV) is cable channel capacity for local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable television systems to televise public affairs meetings.

At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation prior to 1992. As of 2012, C-SPAN's three networks are the most widely known and widely available public affairs channels in the United States.

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 {{For|other uses of "public affairs"|public affairs (disambiguation)}}
 {{Unreferenced|date=November 2006}}
-'''Public affairs''', a [[broadcasting| broadcasting industry]] term, refers to [[television program]]s which focuses on matters of [[politics]] and [[public policy]].  Among [[commercial broadcaster]]s, such programs are often only to satisfy [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) regulatory expectations and are not [[Broadcast programming|scheduled]] in [[prime time]].  Public affairs television programs are  broadcast at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake) in the [[United States|U.S.]].  A particularly favored time for this type of [[broadcasting]] is the [[graveyard slot]], 5 a.m. or 6 a.m. Sunday morning
+'''Public affairs''', a [[broadcasting| broadcasting industry]] term, refers to [[television program]]s which focuses on matters of [[politics]] and [[public policy]].  Among [[commercial broadcaster]]s, such programs are often only to satisfy [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) regulatory expectations and are not [[Broadcast programming|scheduled]] in [[prime time]].  Public affairs television programs are usually broadcast at times when few listeners or viewers are tuned in (or even awake) in the [[United States|U.S.]], in time slots known as [[graveyard slot]]s; such programs can be frequently encountered at times such as 5-6 a.m. on a Sunday morning.
-Public affairs coverage and are carried as [[digital subchannel]] of existing [[state network]] [[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS) member [[public television]] stations.
+Public affairs coverage is carried as [[digital subchannel]]s of existing [[state network]] [[Public Broadcasting Service]] (PBS) member [[public television]] stations.
 [[Government-access television]] (GATV) is cable [[channel capacity]] for local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable television systems to televise public affairs meetings.
-At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] prior to 1992.
+At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the [[Canadian Broadcasting Corporation]] prior to 1992. As of 2012, [[C-SPAN]]'s three networks are the most widely known and widely available public affairs channels in the United States.
 ==See also==