Brian Lamb

For the former editorial director of Gizmodo, see Brian Lam.

Brian Lamb
Brian Lamb in 2008
Born	(1941-10-09) October 9, 1941 Lafayette, Indiana, United States
Alma mater	Purdue University
Occupation	CEO of C-SPAN
Spouse	Victoria Lamb (née Victoria Martin) (2005–present)

Brian Patrick Lamb (born October 9, 1941 in Lafayette, Indiana) is the founder and chief executive officer of C-SPAN, a television network dedicated to coverage of government proceedings and public affairs. Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Lamb earned a degree from Purdue University before joining the United States Navy. After various jobs in the communications field Lamb pitched his idea of a non-profit channel to cable executives, which was approved in 1977—C-SPAN began broadcasts two years later. Lamb has conducted over 1,000 interviews in his lifetime, starting in high school and continuing on C-SPAN programs including Booknotes and Q&A. He has compiled multiple books from his work on Booknotes. He is not registered as a Democrat or Republican. Lamb was married at age 63 and lives in Virginia.

Life

Lamb spent the first twenty-two years of his life in his hometown of Lafayette, Indiana. He describes his mother as "very religious" while his father—who was "very Irish"—was a beer distributor in Lafayette. Lamb's grandfather operated a tavern called Lamb's Place, also in Lafayette. Growing up Lamb wanted to be "an entertainer". He spent time as a disc jockey and a drummer in multiple local bands. In 1961, Lamb coordinated a television program titled Dance Date, similar to Dick Clark's ABC series, American Bandstand. He graduated from Purdue University, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, with a Bachelor of Arts, then joined the United States Navy. Lamb has said his time in the Navy "was probably the most important thing [he's] ever done". After two years at sea Lamb was transferred to the audiovisual office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs. In July 1967, he was transferred to Detroit to cover news conferences of Governor George W. Romney of Michigan.

In December 1967, after the Navy, Lamb "wanted to be involved in politics". He was a White House social aide to Lyndon B. Johnson, and escorted Lady Bird Johnson down the aisle at the wedding of Chuck Robb and Lynda Johnson. He later recalled, "For five years after I got out of the Navy and went back part of the time to Indiana, the only thing I was known to have ever done in my life was to escort Mrs. Johnson down the aisle." Lamb "came very close" to becoming the personal aide of Richard Nixon during his campaign for the 1968 presidential election, but instead returned to Indiana. In August 1968, after working at a local television station, Lamb spent ten weeks on the Nixon campaign in "the only campaigning [he's] ever done and or will ever do." He worked as a freelance reporter and a Senate press secretary, before a stint as a White House telecommunications policy staffer. While working for Cablevision in 1974, Lamb published a newsletter entitled The Media Report.

"I've never said my name on C-SPAN. The host is never a part of the announcement."

Brian Lamb

In September 2005, Lamb married Victoria Martin. The couple had dated in the 1970s, but split up—restarting their relationship in 1998. Lamb credits Warren Burger and Tom Wolfe with increasing his interest in reading. He has been to the gravesite of every United States president and vice-president. Lamb is not registered as a Democrat or Republican and has voted for candidates in both parties during presidential elections. In July 2008, John McCain jokingly described his political affiliation as, "I think he's a vegetarian." In an interview Lamb stated he has "been listening to both sides so long that I don't know what I think anymore." When he is not working Lamb describes his life as, "simple things: movies, music, friends." His home in Arlington, Virginia contains his collection of approximately 3,000 books.

C-SPAN

Main article: C-SPAN

In 1977, Lamb submitted to cable executives his idea of a non-profit channel that would broadcast Congress. Said Lamb, "The risks weren't very significant. No one knew who I was. If I failed, so what?" The idea was approved and Lamb, three other men, and an annual budget of US$450,000 began broadcasting on March 19, 1979. "If you can't make decisions in front of us about how you use our money, then something is wrong." Lamb has described the network as "the antithesis of commercial television" because it does not attempt to make a profit. There is no effort to insert personal opinion into any C-SPAN interviews.

In February 2003, Lamb was awarded the National Humanities Medal. In November 2007, Lamb received the Presidential Medal of Freedom for his work on C-SPAN. The American Historical Association awarded Lamb the 2004 Theodore Roosevelt-Woodrow Wilson Award "for extraordinary contributions to the study, teaching, and public understanding of history."

The C-SPAN archives are located in Lamb's alma mater at West Lafayette, Indiana, Purdue. Lamb has coordinated a project to have the 120,000 hours of C-SPAN footage digitized to make them available online.

Ronald Reagan used to have this little plaque on his desk that said..."No telling how much you can get accomplished if you don't care who gets the credit." I've used that; I just find that to be incredibly important.

— Brian Lamb

Interviews

Lamb's high school broadcasting teacher, Bill Fraser, taught Lamb the basics of broadcasing and interviewing. Fraser taught Lamb to "stay out of the way" while he conducted interviews.

Too many interviewers intrude too much. They want to be the main attraction. They use inflections. They raise their eyebrows as a way of expressing their opinion on what's been said. They try to make us think they're smarter than the person they're interviewing. Well, I assume I'm not smarter and if I am smarter I don't want the audience to find out.

— Brian Lamb

Lamb in 2007

At age 17, Lamb conducted one of his first interviews, with the three members of The Kingston Trio. After checking the tape, he discovered it was blank, and asked the group to redo the interview which they agreed to. "I'll never forget their kindness," he stated. A job at WASK radio gave Lamb the opportunity to interview musicians including Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Nat King Cole, and Count Basie. In April 1989, C-SPAN began to air episodes of Booknotes which was based on the format of "One author, one book, one hour." Lamb hosted the weekly show, which concentrated on non-fiction books. Books were not subject to Lamb's liking. He spent an average of 20 hours reading and preparing for each interview, though he spoke for less than five minutes over the course of each episode. Over the series' run until December 2004, Lamb interviewed 801 authors. Lamb has published multiple books which compile author's responses from their Booknotes interview, with Lamb's questions removed. In addition to Booknotes, Lamb also interviewed "heads of state, war correspondents, biographers, scholars, generals and peacemakers." "I don’t pretend I have the answers. That’s why I’m here asking the questions," Lamb said in 2008. He has interviewed every president since Lyndon Johnson. He complimented Bill Clinton on pausing for 30 seconds before answering some questions. After Booknotes run ended, Lamb began hosting a new show entitled Q&A, which interviews authors, as well as educators, and media members.

Written works

• Lamb, Brian (1998). Booknotes: America's Finest Authors on Reading, Writing, and the Power of Ideas. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0812930290.
• Lamb, Brian (2000). Booknotes Life Stories: Notable Biographers on the People Who Shaped America. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0812933390.
• Lamb, Brian (2002). Booknotes: Stories from American History. Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0142002490.
• Lamb, Brian (2003). Who's Buried in Grant's Tomb? A Tour of Presidential Gravesites. Perseus Books Group. ISBN 978-1586481780.
• Lamb, Brian (2005). Booknotes: On American Character. New York City. ISBN 978-1586483425.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
• Lamb, Brian (2008). Abraham Lincoln: Great American Historians on Our Sixteenth President. New York City: PublicAffairs. ISBN 978-1586486761. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

See also

• Steve Scully

Further reading

• Frantzich, Stephen E. (2008). Founding Father: How C-SPAN's Brian Lamb Changed Politics in America. Lanham, Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0742558502.