Dad, husband, promiscuous reader, music geek, movie nerd, Montanan, NE DC Canine Knucklehead Ward co-founder, @cspan director of editorial operations

Washington, DC
Joined July 2008
Ben O'Connell retweeted
Professional news! SO excited to announce that I will be manning @cspan’s first-ever election night big board, the DEMOCRACY DASHBOARD, next month along with the great Jon McArdle. E-Day lineup is stacked too, with @kirk_bado, @ercovey, @JessicaTaylor, @abbyyturner_ and more>>
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
To celebrate C-SPAN's Founders Day, we taped a conversation on the beginnings of "cable's gift to America." Founder Brian Lamb and former co-CEO Susan Swain joined CEO Sam Feist to talk about the quest to bring LIVE, gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress to every American home.
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
Today is the 47th C-SPANniversary. #OnThisDay
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
Watch complete conversation with former President Obama tonight at 8pm ET on C-SPAN2. c-span.org/event/public-affa…
Former President @BarackObama: "We are certainly at an inflection point not just around political violence but there are hosts of larger trends that we have to be concerned about...Political violence is not new...What happened to Charlie Kirk was horrific and a tragedy."
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
From 2016, Robert Redford receives the Presidential Medal of Freedom. "His art and activism continue to shape our Nation's cultural heritage, inspiring millions to laugh, cry, think, and change." Find more of his C-SPAN appearances here: c-span.org/search/?searchtyp… RIP.
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
#BREAKING: C-SPAN is coming to @YouTube and @Hulu this fall! Press Release: C-SPAN.org/YouTubeTV Press Release: C-SPAN.org/Hulu
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For decades, C-SPAN has let Americans see their government in action. At a time when trust in institutions matters more than ever, I’m working to ensure major streaming services carry C-SPAN. washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
Big Tech bungled its way into bipartisan fight with the Senate in an amazingly small way. They have refused to add C-SPAN to streamers like YouTube TV, Hulu. Now FCC watching. “Policymakers will not take kindly to unchecked selfishness.” My column. washingtonpost.com/politics/…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
U.S. SENATE RESOLUTION: Recognizing June 2, 2025, as the 39th anniversary of C-SPAN chronicling democracy in the Senate. grassley.senate.gov/imo/medi…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
During a town hall meeting, when discussing Medicaid benefits, Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) responds to someone: "Well, we all are going to die."
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A @cspan scoop— The network is planning its first new weekly show in two decades. “Ceasefire” will be a bipartisan, “no shouting” spin on the old Crossfire formula, inspired by a Michael Kinsley idea about finding common ground. nytimes.com/2025/05/15/busin…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
.@YouTubeTV and @hulu + Live TV: Democracy needs C-SPAN! Tell YouTube: support.google.com/youtubetv… Tell Hulu: help.hulu.com/feedback?type=…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
Tim Mohr I first met Tim in 2008 as the U.S. economy was crashing from all of those pesky mortgage-backed bank shenanigans. I had been writing a column for The Seattle Weekly on a regular basis, and Tim somehow thought it’d be a cool idea for me to write about the economy for PLAYBOY.COM , where he was the senior editor (TK senior editor TK). To be in Tim’s literary world was a crash-course lesson on how to be concise and informative, with nudges of humor here and there. To be in Tim’s world also meant you were being edited and taught by a man who worked alongside the greatness of Norman Mailer and Hunter S. Thompson and on and on. He nudged me to be great at all times, and to have humor every breathing second. Tim Mohr was too, mainly responsible for guiding me and pushing me to write my first book It’s So Easy ( and other lies). Tim also went out and got me a book agent which led to my first book deal. I am forever grateful for his guidance there. Tim has remained a dear friend all of these years. His cancer prognosis was a shock, but we all couldn’t imagine a world without Tim, so we naturally thought he’d beat it. My heart goes out to Erin and the kids….I just can’t imagine what their loss feels like. Tim loved so much to be a husband and father. We lost a good man, a FAMILY man, a friend, and a literary LION. - Duff Read more about Tim at rollingstone.com/music/music…
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Tim Mohr, who translated seven novels by Alina Bronsky for Europa Editions, passed away at his home in Brooklyn yesterday. Everyone at Europa joins our publisher Michael Reynolds in sending our love and deep condolences to his family and loved ones: europaeditions.com/.../in-me…
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
To celebrate C-SPAN's Founders Day, today we taped a conversation on the beginnings of "cable's gift to America." Founder Brian Lamb and former co-CEO Susan Swain joined CEO Sam Feist to talk about the quest to bring LIVE, gavel-to-gavel coverage of Congress to every American home.
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
RIP Jim Abrahams, one of the Airplane! directors. The deadpan gag at 0:17 here where the newscaster turns to camera 2 might be the best joke in anything ever.
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
A look behind the scenes of our @texasbookfest coverage.
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Ben O'Connell retweeted
Let me tell you about one of the wildest election days in U.S. history. In 1914, hundreds of Indiana women stood outside the taverns used as polling places. Unable to vote, they instead amassed evidence that took down a conspiracy to rig the election. smithsonianmag.com/history/t…
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