NPC in History: The tiny room with the big legacy

Down at the end of the corridor on the 14th floor – past the photos of former presidents, past the fitness center, past the work space for freelance writers – is a door with the words NPC Studio written in gold on a glass window.

The door is usually locked, but inside is a small, soundproofed room hardly large enough for a couple of chairs. Before the National Press Club’s Broadcast Operations Center opened in 2006 on the fourth floor, this was a space that could be used to do television and radio interviews.

Its small size and remote location belie the fact that it is the site of journalism history.

Next to the door is a photo of five people crammed around a table full of microphones with a television camera pointing at them.

This message is under the photo:

“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 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 TV 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.”

The photo makes it appear that Lamb may be reaching out to answer the phone with that first caller.

C-SPAN has gone on to do countless call-in programs that draw in viewers across the nation to ask questions and make comments about the pressing issues of the day. Since Jan. 2, 1980, C-SPAN has televised every Club luncheon beginning with Paul Volker, chairman of the Federal Reserve.

“It’s a rare opportunity in society on a national basis for an individual to get up and give a full speech on their terms – not anyone else’s terms,” Lamb said when he was presented with the Club’s top Fourth Estate Award in 2002 for lifetime achievement. He thanked the Club for “everything it had done for C-SPAN.”

The feeling is mutual. By broadcasting not only the luncheons but so many other events at the Club, C-SPAN puts it on the national media landscape practically daily. The two organizations have a mutual mission of educating the public in pursuit of democracy. So many of the programs it covers are available for purchase online from C-SPAN that it serves as a veritable Club archive open to the public.

This is another in a series provided by Club Historian Gil Klein. Dig down anywhere in the Club’s 110-year history, and you will find some kind of significant event in the history of the world, the nation, Washington, journalism and the Club itself. Many of these events were caught in illustrations that tell the stories.