C-SPAN to broadcast live today from institute

The exhibit gallery at the Dole Institute of Politics was transformed into an impromptu TV studio Sunday, as C-SPAN prepared for today’s live broadcast from the building.

Workers were mounting lights and running cable for Washington Journal, the program that runs from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. today on Sunflower Broadband Channel 27.

“Obviously, Bob Dole is an institution,” said John Ximenes, community relations representative with the news network.

“He definitely has been involved in U.S. government for many years and done a lot for the American people. And with the dignitaries coming, you never know if it might be the last public appearance for a president,” Ximenes said Sunday.

Former President Jimmy Carter is scheduled to arrive in Lawrence today. Former President Gerald Ford told Kansas University officials Sunday that his health would prevent him from attending as planned.

Brian Lamb, founder and CEO of C-SPAN, will be host of Washington Journal today. He will interview Richard Norton Smith, director of the institute, and Dole during the show.

Ximenes said about a dozen crew members were working on the production.

The “C-SPAN School Bus” has been parked near the institute since Saturday. The bus usually serves as a promotional and educational tool for the network, as it did for high school students during a stop in April in Lawrence.

But this time, the bus is part of the actual broadcast, where producers and technicians will sit during the show.

“It’s a fully functional production vehicle, ” Ximenes said.

“The only thing we need is a satellite truck.”