C-SPAN wraps up Fayetteville visit, segments to air next month

Scott Hummelsheim (left), a producer and video journalist with C-SPAN, speaks Wednesday with Judy Costello, director of historical programs for the Washington County Historical Society, while preparing to film a segment about Fayetteville at Headquarters House.
Scott Hummelsheim (left), a producer and video journalist with C-SPAN, speaks Wednesday with Judy Costello, director of historical programs for the Washington County Historical Society, while preparing to film a segment about Fayetteville at Headquarters House.

FAYETTEVILLE -- The rest of the country will get a taste of the region's historical and literary presence.

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Scott Hummelsheim (right), a producer and video journalist with C-SPAN, attaches a wireless microphone Wednesday to Tess Kidd, museum manager at Headquarters House for the Washington County Historical Society, while preparing to film a segment about Fayetteville.

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Hummelsheim (left), speaks Wednesday with Judy Costello, director of historical programs for the Washington County Historical Society, about a historical document while preparing to film a segment about Fayetteville at Headquarters House

Producers with C-SPAN wrapped up a weeklong visit to the city and a few spots nearby Thursday. Crews filmed segments for the BookTV and American History TV programs, which air on C-SPAN2 and C-SPAN3, respectively.

When to watch

Segments filmed in Fayetteville and nearby cities will air Feb. 3-4.

• BookTV: C-SPAN2 (Cox channels 153, 2153)

• American History TV: C-SPAN3 (Cox channels 154, 2154)

Source: C-SPAN

The visit was part of the network's 2018 cities tour. Debbie Lamb, coordinating producer, described Fayetteville and the Northwest Arkansas region as a "hidden gem."

"I don't know what I was expecting when I came," she said. "I just thought, 'It's a city.' But there's so much more to it. There's a huge art culture, there's literary life with the university there, there's a lot of good political history in general."

A filmed event at the public library kicked things off with keynote speaker Randall Bennett Woods, distinguished professor at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. Woods led a discussion of his book, Prisoners of Hope: Lyndon B. Johnson, the Great Society and the Limits of Liberalism.

Outside Fayetteville, producers paid a visit to the Shiloh Museum of Ozark History in Springdale and Museum of Native American History in Bentonville.

In Fayetteville, crews took a driving tour of the city and visited the Clinton House Museum, Headquarters House on East Dickson Street and the Arkansas Air and Military Museum. Producers gave a presentation to high school students about C-SPAN in the classroom and interviewed several university professors who have authored nonfiction works.

One of those professors, Lisa Corrigan, was interviewed for about three hours regarding her book, Prison Power: How Prison Influenced the Movement for Black Liberation.

"I had a lot of freedom. There were only a couple prompts the entire time," Corrigan said. "I talk about politics all the time, so it was sort of the right format for somebody in communication."

Full segments, which can run 5-20 minutes, will air and re-air on the networks in addition to the program episodes, Lamb said. Everything that airs will be archived online and available for viewing.

Tess Kidd, museum manager at the Washington County Historical Society, said C-SPAN crews got a tour of Headquarters House like any other visitor. But now a national audience will learn about the Civil War battle that took place in Fayetteville and the history of the house built in 1850 that served as a headquarters for the Union and Confederacy.

"Anytime the Washington County Historical Society and Headquarters House is featured somewhere, especially a national news organization like C-SPAN that's seen all over the country, that's always something special," she said.

C-SPAN is a public-affairs network created by cable. Its visit marks the second time recently that a national network has decided to film in Fayetteville. In December, HBO announced the third season of crime drama True Detective would film in the city.

NW News on 01/13/2018

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