Brian Lamb visited Purdue’s campus again this semester, participating in several events, including a master class Project IMPACT event and a reception for communication faculty, students and staff.
Project IMPACT
Ambassador Carolyn Curiel and Brian Lamb listen to a student's comments during the master class forum Feb. 28. (Photo by Samantha Scott)
Ambassador Carolyn Curiel brought C-SPAN founder Brian Lamb to speak to her master class as part of Project IMPACT on Tuesday, Feb. 28.
Curiel’s students from three classes about media, politics and the presidential election, Purdue students, and members of the community gathered to hear Lamb’s ideas on social media, the presidential election and the future of C-SPAN.
Curiel introduced Lamb by discussing his achievements and explaining that he is the man who brought openness in government into our living rooms via cable.
The discussion began with an invitation from Lamb for attendees to voice their opinions and ask questions.
“Don’t be shy, or we’ll kill you,” Lamb said.
The conversation continually returned to social media today, specifically Twitter.
“Is Twitter dumbing down America?” Lamb asked.
The discussion turned to the idea of breaking news on Twitter, the accuracy of it, and how politicians are using the technology.
Lamb is not on Twitter himself.
“I do not follow Twitter, our company follows Twitter,” Lamb said. “I get my news the old fashioned way – I love picking up [a newspaper], although its getting lighter and lighter.”
A student in the audience told Lamb and Curiel that they use Twitter because it allows users to see how candidates are when they aren’t in the face of a camera.
“I think social media is incredibly important and a fantastic opportunity for people to be involved,” Lamb said.
The discussion then turned to how C-SPAN’s coverage is changing.
Lamb said there are still some candidates who won’t allow microphones on them and said the protection surrounding these individuals change the dynamic of filming.
“What you really want to do is catch a candidate being him or herself,” Lamb said.
According to Lamb, this is difficult to do now because it is hard to get close to a candidate in a non-scripted environment.
“Almost none of the candidates will take calls because they don’t want the spontaneity of it,” Lamb said.
Lamb also said it is important to be informed about what is going on in the world and make sure that readers are assessing the validity of information sources.
“Listen to it all and watch it all, look at who is doing the studies,” Lamb said.
After the event, attendees had a chance to socialize and meet with Lamb and Curiel on a more personal basis.
“I thought it was an engaging presentation that allowed students to interact with Lamb on pertinent political and policy issues,” said Theon Hill, graduate student in the Brian Lamb School of Communication.
Ambassador Curiel had similar feelings about the forum.
“We are so lucky,” Curiel said. “[We had a] great turnout and people were engaged and a lot of important topics came up. People get to know why he’s so significant.”
Written by Samantha Scott
Senior, Public Relations/Advertising
Lamb Reception
Communication and political science faculty, staff and students attended a reception Feb. 27 to talk with Brian Lamb and continue to celebrate his impact on political communication and Purdue’s communication school.
