Riding the bus to grade school would’ve been a lot better if it had been in the giant yellow C-SPAN bus that made a stop at NIU Wednesday.

The 45-foot-long C-SPAN bus was brought to NIU by the communication department and AT&T Broadband.

“We were contacted by Matthew McGuire with the opportunity to bring the bus to NIU for the benefit of faculty, journalism and communication students and anyone interested in cable television production,” said Lois Self, the chair of the communication department.

The huge bus, with three massive television screens, was parked outside the Northern Television Center for the majority of the day. The bus and the C-SPAN staff within it traveled to DeKalb and other cities to illustrate the benefits of C-SPAN television to people of all ages.

“We encourage kids to watch the news, and we are yet another resource to students,” said McGuire, an NIU alumnus and C-SPAN account representative.

The bus serves as a public relations vehicle, education center and a fully operational television studio.

“We started in Lincoln, Neb., and will end up in Springfield, Ill., at the end of this week,” said Jonelle Henry, a production assistant on the bus. “It’s great that C-SPAN has viewers in DeKalb and is reaching out to them.”

The bus earned its well-traveled mileage by driving to every state capitol in the continental United States. The bus also was shipped to Alaska and Hawaii to bring its message of political education.

The bus has had some famous moments in the past, with the most notable visitors being President Bushand former president Bill Clinton.

“Basically, this is an opportunity to make the public aware of what C-SPAN is all about,” McGuire said.

C-SPAN, which stands for Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network, is a publicly funded cable channel that provides 24-hour news coverage of the U.S. Congress.

The bus was brought to increase customer awareness about the all-news channel.

“We provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House and the Senate proceedings, and we do not have to break for commercials, that is what makes us different,” McGuire said.

The news studio on wheels attempts to stop at a different town every day of the work week.

The retro-fitted bus mostly makes stops at high schools to inform potential new voters about politics and current events. The bus attempts to explain what C-SPAN is all about.

“I think this is an excellent idea, especially the teaching part of it,” NIU communication professor Gary Noggle said.

The C-SPAN philosophy, as explained by McGuire, simply is to present the news without any additives. He discussed how other television news programs dramatize the news with music, lighting and opinions, while C-SPAN remains committed to the news and only the opinions of those involved.

“We don’t try to make a show of the news like other networks,” McGuire said.

McGuire and his fellow associates recommended that college students visit the C-SPAN Web site, www.c-span.org, to find out what will be aired on the channel at any given time.