It's C-SPAN live — in Salt Lake City

The new and improved C-SPAN bus pulled into Salt Lake City on Monday and will be visiting students through Tuesday as part of its inaugural "Road to the White House" tour, aimed at getting students more involved in the political process.

Students from West High and the University of Utah, and even Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., boarded the bus for a quick tour Monday.

But the 45-foot, $1.3 million bus is no ordinary vehicle. Aside from having traveled coast to coast, the bus doubles as a classroom and a production studio, and is fully equipped to support live programming from the road.

Stephanie Green, marketing representative for C-SPAN, said the bus is used in lieu of spendy advertising campaigns for the network.

"We put our money into this bus that we can take all over the country and meet person to person, group to group and get our message across," Green said.

Aside from informing the public about C-SPAN — it is funded by the cable industry, including Comcast in Salt Lake City, and provides access to the American political process and government — the bus is used to reach out to young citizens.

Through presentations, C-SPAN officials can talk to students about media literacy, the political process, being a good citizen and how to use the media to get information about government and politics, Green said.

"We want them to walk away with the understanding of the power of media and the power of cable TV to inform the public," Green said. "We want students to know that information is power and the more you know the better citizen you are."

The bus has been on this particular tour since January, and Green said she hopes to broadcast from each of the presidential candidates' headquarters.

"Especially in this election, where there are so many candidates on both sides, you have to really follow the candidates, follow the debates and follow the issues to keep up," Green said.

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