Talk:Brian Lamb

Untitled
this guy is not a terribly skilled interviewer. Kzz Rzz  Knocker  03:58, 3 April 2006 (UTC) That's the point, he doesn't try to interview, that much. He tries to do as little as humanly possible. Just enough to gove the guest the impression that he is human not a robot.


 * K, help me out. you'r saying it's a choice. why choose that kinda style? I don't get it. /izl    04:09, 8 April 2006 (UTC)
 * i think he wants the interview to be about the guest, not the host. he does ask very thoughtful questions and will persue a subject if the interviewee attempts to dodge or change the subject.  C-SPAN attempts to be a neutral source of factual information.  sometimes this results in a lack of focus on the more vicious of controversial topics.  regardless, it is what it is, and when you want to hear about an author's new book, or a professor's new project, there's not much for an interviewer to do but sit back and listen.  Mr. Lamb and C-SPAN provide content and style not found on other networks, and that alone is reason to do it.  12 April 2006.
 * Yes, thats the point, its not about Lamb, he doesn't want you to remember him when the interview is over, he doesn't want to be a figure in his own right. Just like the part of the article which mentions that he never says his own name on the air, its the old adage to report the news, not be the news, which too many tv personalities have forgotten, Lamb trys to not be a tv personality but merely a catalyst for the interveiw to maintain direction. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.188.130.152 (talk) 23:25, 9 February 2008 (UTC)


 * tavis smiley. now, that's a thoughtful interviewer. does his homework. I guess- it feels like "get to know you" with b.lamb. it's a personal vibe, which is cool. it's just not traditional. that's no reason for me to be a hater, I guess. but I feel like sometimes he hasn't done basic background on a person or what that person does. like, say fishing was not an activity everyone knew th basics of, ok? if he were interviewing a "prominent fisherman" he'd be like "so, I understand you put, what is it, worms on these steel hooks on the end of a very strong synthetic line?" then the interviewee is all like "yeah" and explains it for like 30 seconds. this is cool if you don't know about fishing, which we can assume most people don't. but how many viewers of that episode know about it? then he'd go on some dumb stuff like "these lines are so thin, how are they so strong"? y'know? he does stuff like that. I dunno. a little background, I guess. I get the whole public TV vibe but, /izl 17:37, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

Are those quotations really examples of a "unique" style? I mean, do no other people speak like that? Whoever wrote that seems excessively obsequious. Please. The guy is not really unique. And certainly if his manner is not unique, blandly expressed words are not particularly memorable. Wikitoddia 06:19, 18 June 2007 (UTC)
 * Yeah those are all sayings that you could hear from any interviewer. His style is totally homogeneous and not even a unique manner of being concise such as Hemingway's. That is a willfully adopted style of interview on Lamb's part though, which is what the section is getting at. A better way of expressing that might be his quote: "My basic approach to interviewing is to ask the basic questions that might even sound naive, or not intellectual, sometimes when you ask the simple questions like 'Who are you?' or 'What do you do?' you learn the most." from: http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/PersonOfWeek/story?id=301384&page=1. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.191.206.201 (talk) 07:05, 6 July 2008 (UTC)
 * Lamb's concern is letting the author speak for himself/herself. Now what he does do well is following up on certain topics. Should an author bring up some detail in a book, Lamb will usually ask a question or two to make the author expound upon that detail. He also makes sure to cite pages or quotes from others in his questioning.

Now what I want to really know is this: why do some guests call him "Greg"? There is NO Greg is his name! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.90.119.200 (talk) 05:19, 31 July 2009 (UTC)

Proposed rewrite at WP:CO-OP
For anyone who may have this page watchlisted, I have proposed a substantial expansion and re-organization of this article at WikiProject Cooperation's Paid Editor Help page. As you might expect from that preface, I have undertaken the research and rewriting of this article on behalf of C-SPAN, as an outside consultant. (My proposed draft is here.) I've posted a fairly thorough explanation of what my version seeks to add and improve there, and I'd like to invite anyone who sees this here to comment over there. If you have any concerns, please raise them on that page, and I'll respond in a timely manner. If you like it, feel free to move it over. Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 05:10, 17 February 2012 (UTC)
 * For the record, I'd like to say that the article seems extremely well done to me at this point. DS (talk) 12:17, 16 March 2012 (UTC)
 * Thanks, DS. In fact this is the draft I had proposed then, as moved into place by another editor, following a bit of discussion and some mutually agreed upon changes. If you're curious to see what it looked like prior to the update, . Cheers, WWB Too (talk) 19:56, 19 March 2012 (UTC)

Good link, parking it here for the time being
THis is a good link, and it has some stuff we might want to use later on: http://www.pophistorydig.com/?p=11852 - I am parking it here for the time being, and doing the same at C-SPAN. KConWiki (talk) 04:14, 15 May 2012 (UTC)

Updates regarding Lamb's role at C-SPAN
Hi, I'd like to get some help updating this article to reflect the fact that Brian Lamb stepped down as CEO of C-SPAN in March of 2012. As this New York Times article explains, Lamb's resignation was effective at the end of March last year, following which he continues to serve as C-SPAN's executive chairman and host the Q&A program. As I work with WWB Too (see above) as an outside consultant to C-SPAN, I'd prefer not to make changes to the article myself and I'd appreciate if another editor could review the below changes and make the edits if they look ok.

1. The introduction to this article should be updated to show that he is the former CEO of C-SPAN. I suggest the following:
 * Brian Patrick Lamb (born October 9, 1941) is the founder, chairman, and CEO of C-SPAN, an American cable network which provides coverage of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate as well as other public affairs events.

2. The "Occupation" parameter in the infobox should be changed from "CEO of C-SPAN" to "Executive chairman of C-SPAN's board of directors". It might also be a good idea to add the "Known for" parameter and note there that Lamb is the founder and former CEO of C-SPAN.

3. The second to last sentence in the second paragraph of the C-SPAN section of this article also needs a small change and the addition of a new reference (the NYT article):
 * Lamb is the chairman  and  chief executive officer and president.

I'm happy to answer any questions about these changes, so please don't hesitate to ask. I've watchlisted this page and will reply here as soon as I can. Thanks, 16912 Rhiannon (Talk · COI) 21:24, 21 February 2013 (UTC)


 * I've made the changes suggested above and a few others to the wording of some paragraphs to indicate he has left some programs and changed roles. Appreciate the work you did here Rhiannon. (ProliferatingJade (talk) 04:14, 16 March 2013 (UTC))
 * I believe this template moves the item to the Implemented category 009o9 (talk) 01:21, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Thanks ProliferatingJade! Very much appreciate your help. If you're still watching this page, can you fix the redlinked "C-SPAN" in the infobox?
 * And 009o9, I've switched out the request template at the top for the "answered" one you added, otherwise I think this request shows up twice: once as still open and once as completed. Thanks again, 16912 Rhiannon (Talk &middot; COI) 12:53, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
 * On a closer read I just noticed that in several places in the article "C-Span" is used instead of "C-SPAN" and I think "founder" in the infobox should be capitalized, can someone fix these too? Thanks, 16912 Rhiannon (Talk &middot; COI) 18:27, 18 March 2013 (UTC)
 * Oh, I think I made those C-Spans, sorry about that. Fixed and the other points you mentioned. Great to have a copy editor! (ProliferatingJade (talk) 04:45, 19 March 2013 (UTC))
 * Thanks again, ProliferatingJade! And so sorry to do this, but there's one "C-Span" left: in the second paragraph of the C-SPAN section. Can you fix that one too? (Apologies for delay in reply.) 16912 Rhiannon (Talk &middot; COI) 14:46, 22 March 2013 (UTC)
 * No need to apologize, I appreciate the oversight. Copy editing is not one of my strengths. — Preceding unsigned comment added by ProliferatingJade (talk • contribs) 03:28, 23 March 2013 (UTC)

Everything looks good now, thanks again! 16912 Rhiannon (Talk · COI) 14:48, 26 March 2013 (UTC)

WikiProject C-SPAN?
Greetings fellow Wikipedia editor(s) -

Let me put forward an idea that I have been kicking around for a while. What if we started a C-SPAN WikiProject?

The parameters of this (potential) project are up for discussion, but it could include some or all of the following (as well as things that may occur to you that have not occurred to me):


 * Creation, maintenance, and improvement of articles and lists directly related to C-SPAN and its programming.
 * Use of C-SPAN programming in citations for various topics
 * Inclusion of unique and targeted C-SPAN video links for various articles. (Doing this with respect for established guidelines at External links.) (Example: If you are interested in the submarine USS Wyoming (SSBN-742), then having easy access to the eight hours of programming taped while a C-SPAN crew were guests on that submarine could also be of interest to you.)
 * Inclusion of (and possible further creation of) templated links such as, that will easily take article readers to a link of all C-SPAN Video Library links for the person about whom the article is about.
 * What else?

I don't know exactly how far we may want to go, nor in what directions, but I do believe (as I have long noted on my user page) that C-SPAN and Wikipedia are both...

"...fantastic vehicles for the free exchange of ideas and information in a non-sound-bite manner, and they both invite the participation of any parties (expert or amateur) who are interested in taking the time to absorb and/or contribute to the ideas and information offered. C-SPAN and Wikipedia go together like peanut butter and jelly, and I want to help give other Wiki users easy access to the great work that C-SPAN has done on a variety of topics."

Now, I should mention that I have never started a WikiProject before, and I do not know the best way to go about it. (Perhaps one of you do?) Let me offer one of my sandbox pages, User:KConWiki/sandbox/Wikiproject C-SPAN?, as a gathering area for comments until such time as we gather enough steam to start our own WikiProject page.

I hope that you will give some consideration as to whether this is something we ought to attempt. Please feel free to pass this message on to others you know whom might be interested, and please let me know your thoughts and comments.

KConWiki (talk) 02:35, 26 March 2013 (UTC)


 * Is WikiProject Television/Cable television task force too busy with other matters in its purview? Jim.henderson (talk) 01:00, 28 March 2013 (UTC)

Description in introduction
Hi, after the requests I made on this talk page earlier this year (see above), I've kept this article on my watchlist and noticed the, where an unregistered editor added "an American businessman" to the article's introduction. This edit struck me as odd considering that Lamb isn't described as a "businessman" anywhere else in his article. Also, Lamb is the former CEO of C-SPAN, which being a nonprofit, has different objectives than a traditional business, making this description of him not quite right.

I'm wondering if someone would be willing to either undo this edit to return the introduction to its earlier version or perhaps replace "businessman" with "journalist" in the introduction. The article does address his journalism work, so this would be a better description of his career.

As I've mentioned before, I work with WWB Too who is a paid consultant to C-SPAN, so for that reason I'd rather not make any changes to the article myself. Thanks for looking at this, I'm looking forward to hearing what others think about the description. Thanks, 16912 Rhiannon (Talk · COI) 15:16, 9 September 2013 (UTC)


 * There hasn't been a response to my message above yet, but I wanted to add a second minor request to this thread in the hopes that anyone who reviews this can help with both issues.


 * Back in early August an editor added the "S. Roger Horchow Award for Greatest Public Service by a Private Citizen" award to the Awards and recognition section. I saw the edit at the time and thought it was a bit odd, especially seeing how it was added to the very beginning of the section and not incorporated into the existing text, but didn't look too closely at it because it was supported by a source. However, just today I went to see what editors have been active on this page to see if I could find someone to review the edit to the introduction that I mentioned above and came across this discussion on the Talk page of the editor who originally added the award. It appears that this user was tasked with adding a mention of this organization's award into many, many articles. Considering the origins of the addition I'd like to request that this information be removed, as the editor was advised to do. What do others think about this? Thanks again, 16912 Rhiannon (Talk &middot; COI) 22:43, 12 September 2013 (UTC)
 * Ya, the leg work you did on finding that editor getting warned and asked to remove the content was enough for me. Done. If another editor wants to find proof that this award is mentioned anywhere but the organization's own website, feel free to add it back. D kriegls  ( talk to me! ) 06:40, 13 September 2013 (UTC)
 * I went back and forth about the businessman label. But, I realized it is pretty much covered in the intro sentence by calling him founder, chairman, and CEO. Adding a non-specific descriptor like businessman doesn't add anything. Anyways, cheers. D kriegls  ( talk to me! ) 06:45, 13 September 2013 (UTC)
 * Oh, that's great! Thanks so much for making these changes, very much appreciate your help here. 16912 Rhiannon (Talk &middot; COI) 12:45, 13 September 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 3 one external links on Brian Lamb. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120222150817/http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31lamb.htm to http://www.usnews.com/usnews/news/articles/051031/31lamb.htm
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20120120194119/http://www.trumanaward.org/web/LambBio.html to http://www.trumanaward.org/web/LambBio.html
 * Added tag to http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x867535362/OU-honors-C-SPAN-founder-with-Gaylord-Prize
 * Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20090131193918/http://www.booknotes.org:80/about/ to http://www.booknotes.org/about/
 * Added tag to http://normantranscript.com/headlines/x867535362/OU-honors-C-SPAN-founder-with-Gaylord-Prize
 * Added tag to http://www.tvnewscheck.com/article/2011/09/11/53882/williams-amanpour-lamb-join-lab-giants/format/print

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.— InternetArchiveBot  (Report bug) 06:28, 8 November 2016 (UTC)

Parking links here for possible future use
KConWiki (talk) 04:33, 22 May 2019 (UTC)
 * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q90Oyj8H2Yc

Alias?
I'm sure I can remember a C-Span interview where he was named as 'Peter Slen'. Can anybody shed light on this? Valetude (talk) 08:52, 16 May 2022 (UTC)