Club plans to commemorate historic C-SPAN telecast

Along the corridor on the National Press Club's 14th floor is a small room that was used as a makeshift studio for an historic C-SPAN telecast.

At a recent Club Broadcast Committee Legends Dinner, C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb recalled that the first thing that happened was the lights went out -- not good for television. After a quick fix, the C-SPAN's first call-in show continued.

The 35th anniversary of that event is coming up next week, and the Club will mark the occasion by installing a plaque in the room.

The exact wording is still being worked out, but it will read something like this:

"In this room, on Oct. 7, 1980, a new age in telecommunications began as C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb hosted the channel’s first-ever call-in program, following a National Press Club luncheon appearance by Charles Ferris, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Lamb interviewed Ferris immediately after his speech and a panel discussion followed. Joining the discussion with Lamb (far right) were Tack Nail, correspondent, Television Digest; Pat Gushman, correspondent, Cablevision Magazine; Michael Kelley, founder, The Capitol Connection, George Mason University; and Donald West, managing editor, Broadcasting Magazine.

"The first caller to the program was from Yankton, South Dakota.

"Thanks to Brian Lamb’s efforts, C-SPAN has played a supportive and critically important role in the success of the National Press Club by televising luncheons and other Club events."

Watch the telecast.