REASON ENOUGH NOT TO SHOOT YOUR TV :

Brian Lamb's Flock : The Unassuming C-SPAN Founder and Host Has a Faithful Audience (Mark Leibovich, July 11, 2002, Washington Post)

People see things in Brian Lamb that may or may not exist. That's part of his genius, or his phenomenon. He is a cultural white board, a screen for ideological projection. Likewise, as C-SPAN has grown into a franchise that includes three TV stations, a radio station and nine Web sites, the relationship between the network and its followers has grown more complex and multifaceted than when C-SPAN was created, in 1979, to provide gavel-to-gavel coverage of the House of Representatives. The advent of 24-hour news channels -- with their personality-driven lineups -- has brought C-SPAN's dry approach, and appeal, into a sharp relief.

C-SPAN -- which stands for Cable Satellite Public Affairs Network -- is a lifestyle brand for the bookish and civic-minded. Its viewers are fervent, and their devotion is personified by Lamb. Conversations with C-SPAN fans yield awe and wonder at the network's founder, CEO and best-known host. On the surface, the cult of non-personality is easy to grasp: Lamb, 60, brims with low-key accessibility. "Viewers either love or hate Bill O'Reilly," says Maura Clancey of Statistical Research Inc., who has studied the C-SPAN audience since 1984. "But they feel as if they have a friendly relationship with Brian."

Not only is this a great profile of the man who will become our greatest living American upon the Gipper's death, it also recounts two genuine comic highlights :

There was one appearance on the Don Imus radio show, when Lamb was discussing the last words uttered by U.S. presidents.

"I think one of the more interesting ones is Franklin Delano Roosevelt," Lamb said. "I have a terrific headache."

"You do?" Imus said.

"No," Lamb said, and he explained that these were FDR's last words.

The Imus people laughed, and Stoner calls this one of the funniest things he has ever heard -- purely because it was Lamb.

...which was far funnier live on the radio, and :

"What is buggery?" he asked the author Martin Gilbert.

...which in the context of Booknotes was about the funniest moment in television history (with the possible exception of Woody and Sam kissing). Posted by Orrin Judd at July 11, 2002 8:47 PM