C-SPAN's Failed Attempt at Censoring Me (a Teenager)

In my introductory post on Steem, I promised to tell the backstory of my confrontation with Nancy Pelosi. It involves deception, outright lies, and – most importantly – a failed attempt at censorship. This is my story…

Just like the CSI shows on TV, let’s start right in the middle of the action. I’m covertly holding my Motorola Droid at my side. I’ve already tapped the red, circular record button in anxious preparation for what is about to happen. My hands are a bit shaky, my palms somewhat sweaty. I clear my throat in hopes of articulating a direct, unavoidable question to Pelosi…

What you see and hear in that viral confrontation is certainly important. Don’t get me wrong, watching such an elite politician failingly squirm her way out of answering a tough question is top-notch entertainment! What happened behind-the-scenes – after the camera stopped recording – is equally important, however…

Pelosi’s office is now virtually silent. Two assistants quickly escort her from the room to a long, narrow hallway. Meanwhile, three of the four other documentary finalists stand frozen in their place, staring blankly into the faces of their accompanying parents and C-SPAN employees. The fourth finalist? Well, he cuts through the room’s stillness; hi-fiving me and proclaiming, “That was awesome, dude!”

(Pictured above is Donald, the kid who appreciated what I just did)

We then exit the building because the dust temporarily settles. While walking from the Capitol back to C-SPAN headquarters, one employee approaches me. “Were you planning on posting that to YouTube?” he curiously questions. “Why does it matter?” I rebuff. (This employee’s answer still kills me today…) They reply, “We wouldn't want to damage our relationship with Leader Pelosi and her office.”

Right here, you have empirical evidence that C-SPAN is neither unbiased nor objective. Given that you’re reading this story on Steem, you shouldn’t be surprised by this information. No mainstream media outlet is fully ethical. To them, “access” takes precedence over truth.

(Posing on the set of C-SPAN's Washington Journal program)

Anyway, back to the story itself…

I’m still walking toward C-SPAN’s offices. Since I’ve yet to review my footage of the confrontation, I slip my phone out of my pocket. There’s only one preview thumbnail of the recording, and it’s only a few seconds long. To say I was heartbroken would be an understatement. Frantically, I search the rest of my phone for the full recording to no avail. My phone had run out of memory during the confrontation, so everything was lost. Nobody will ever believe what just happened! And there’s zero chance C-SPAN, whose cameraman recorded the group meeting, will hand me their footage that makes them look bad!

(As you can see, everyone's reactions to the confrontation were equally entertaining as the act itself!)

Totally hopeless, I finally arrive at C-SPAN and summon the elevator to floor three. The heavy doors open at my destination. I’m greeted by Brian Lamb, the founder of C-SPAN. Lamb applauds me, saying something like: “That’s what real journalism is; asking tough questions!” I am shocked. Not only had word about my exchange with Pelosi spread so quickly, but also Lamb’s response to the situation was completely opposite that of his employee. Surely if I had the blessing of the father of C-SPAN, I could acquire the footage without complication!

(A photo of me with C-SPAN founder, Brian Lamb)

Well, the plot thickens…

I fly home to Cleveland the next morning. Upon arrival, I immediately e-mail C-SPAN and ask for the name of the cameraman who filmed the Pelosi event. (Once I discovered the cameraman’s name, my strategy was to find and personally message him on Facebook. In doing so, I could subvert C-SPAN’s bureaucracy/e-mail monitoring and attempt to strike a deal with the employee.) C-SPAN was kind enough to provide me the name of their cameraman, but stipulated that “while [REDACTED] did have a mic attached to his camera, per our agreement, the audio would not be able to be used.”

Put simply, C-SPAN’s excuse for censoring the confrontation footage was such that an imaginary agreement was made with Pelosi’s office which barred any and all audio recording. Unsurprisingly, nobody was informed of this imaginary rule prior to entering, including even the cameraman.

(Note the external microphone being held by the cameraman. If no audio recording was permitted, then why was he actively capturing it?).

Here’s the raw, unedited e-mail exchange that followed, in which I won the footage from C-SPAN:

DEMETER: With all due respect, I would view C-SPAN's unwillingness to kindly provide me the aforementioned clip as a conflict of the network's philosophy of neutrality and unbiasedness. StudentCam [the documentary contest], after all, emphasized the cruciality of broadcasting both sides of the story and not censoring one side or any other in order to fit a particular agenda.

C-SPAN: I’ll be happy to provide you with the video, but – just to clarify – my concern did not stem from any bias.

By the way, acquiring the footage itself was not a particularly simple task. C-SPAN refused to digitally transfer the file, as it was multiple gigabytes in size (despite its short length). My solution? I mailed them a clean, formatted 64GB flash drive. After a week or so, I received nothing in return. Allegedly, C-SPAN hadn’t received the USB drive. I mailed them another one. Finally, and perhaps miraculously, the footage was in my hands. The country was about to see what it so desperately needed…

(Don't worry, I quickly fled the scene...)

So, what’s the moral of my story? No mainstream media outlet is truly unbiased. Despite their best efforts to portray themselves as objective onlookers, these organizations should fool nobody. Furthermore, harness and utilize persistence. It’s the only barrier between you and your destination. I could have easily surrendered and thrown in the white flag. I could have made excuses like, “Oh, my phone is stupid!” Instead, I pushed forward and was ultimately successful.