8 questions, 8 answers
Q1: How do I get the video when Obama said “________” or when McCain said “________”?
A: The Debate Hub lets you search by time, topic and speaker on the Timeline (middle of the page here) and by key word in the transcript search page (e.g., “billion“).
Q2: Is C-SPAN video embeddable? Can I make my own clip?
A: Yes and yes! We are also on YouTube, should you prefer that platform (though, you can’t do your own editing, which I have personally found useful)
Q3: How many times did McCain say “friends” [in the last debate]? What about Obama?
A: McCain – 18; Obama – 0
Q4: How many times did Obama say “understand” [in the last debate]? What about McCain?
A: Obama – 15; McCain – 8
Q5: How did you know the word count?
A: Just check out our Word Tree for the top words and their ‘mentioners’ (at the bottom of the main site); dive deeper in the transcript on the search page and embed/edit any clip you would like that includes your key words and topics.
Q6: How do I get my blog post linked on C-SPAN’s Debate Hub? Can I get added to the blogroll, too?
A: Send in your content through the “Blogger Tips” section near the bottom of the site. Once we link you, your blog will automatically be added to our blogroll.
Q7: How do you select the blogs to go up on the Hub? Is there an RSS feed set up?
A: C-SPAN and NMS work together to maintain a balanced perspective from both the Left and the Right (and everything in between). Posts must be relevant to the debates and timely. Each post is hand updated, no RSS feeds are in place. We have linked over 300 bloggers writing almost 500 stories, averaging around 150 posts per debate. Help us grow this number by submitting your content and that of other bloggers you read and enjoy.
Q8: What if I want to access past debates? When do you rotate the main site for the next debate?
A: The drop down menu gives you access to each debate (debate-1, debate-2, debate-3) usually the night before and/or the morning of the debate is when we switch things over.