Cyndi Loza

The C-SPAN Campaign 2008 Bus rolled into town with a primary message: The station is a different source of information than they’re popular media counterparts.

“As a nonprofit organization, we’re not driven by ratings, money or commercials,” marketing representative Scott Peterson said. “We’re driven at being as useful a resource of public affairs as we can possibly be.”

The 45-foot mobile production studio Thursday visited Truckee Meadows Community College and the Reno City Plaza as part of its campaign stump to promote and enhance the cable channel’s political coverage.

“Our goal is to let people know that if you want to be informed, here we are,” Peterson said.

After touring the bus and watching part of C-SPAN’s programing, McQueen High School freshman Dustin Clifford said he learned U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., was not the only black man running for president. Republican Alan Keyes also is running.

“It’s pretty interesting,” said Clifford, 15, of Reno. “I like how they show political people that aren’t shown on national news.”

C-SPAN differs from other media broadcasts because “it’s not about us, it’s about what we’re showing,” Peterson said.

Reno resident Kristy Fifelski, 28, said she likes the station because it does not have flashy graphics or streaming news banners.

“They’re not just giving us sound bites, they’re giving us the whole story,” Fifelski said.

Mayor Bob Cashell toured the bus when it stopped by the city plaza. He said it was an honor to have the crew in town.

“Somewhere in the news tonight, they’re going to say they were in Reno, Nevada, and I’m going to be tickled to death,” said Cashell, who added that he watches C-SPAN regularly.

The bus will be at Fernley City Hall, Fernley High School and Sparks City Hall today and on Saturday at the Spanish Springs Library and the Northwest Reno Library.