C-SPAN launched television’s first-ever, regularly scheduled national viewer call-in program on October 7, 1980, from the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. The call-in anniversary was a live, 25-hour call-in marathon that started on Friday, October 7, 2005, at 8 p.m. ET and continued through Saturday, October 8, 2005, at 9 p.m. ET.

25th ANNIVERSARY OF C-SPAN CALL-INS: PROGRAM VIDEO
1980-1981
Topic: Have call-ins changed the political discussion?
Guest: Phil Donahue
Guest: Pat Buchanan, MSNBC analyst
Contest Winners: Carole Troll, Woodhaven, NY &
Barrett Kalellis, Pinckney, MI

1981-1982
Topic: Memorable Members of Congress
Guest: Tony Blankley, Op-Ed page editor, Washington Times
Contest Winner: Kathleen Holowach, El Cajon, CA

1983
Topic: The Middle East
Guest: Georgie Anne "Gigi" Geyer, author and reporter
Contest Winner: Scott Gray, Birmingham, AL

1984
Topic: Iowa/NH and presidential politics
Guests: David Yepsen, political editor, Des Moines Register & Joseph McQuaid, publisher, The New Hampshire Union Leader
Contest Winner: Joel Steinberg, Fairfax Station, VA

1985
Topic: The Reagan years
Guest: Lou Cannon, Reagan biographer
Contest Winner: Mary McGinnis, Rupert, ID

1986
Topic: Space exploration
Guest: Dr. Louis Friedman, executive director, Planetary Society

1987
Topic: Presidential scandals and their impact on democracy
Guests: Susan Page, Washington bureau chief, USA Today & Carl Leubsdorf, Washington bureau chief, Dallas Morning News
Contest Winner: Anthony Lee, Berkeley, CA

1988
Topic: The legacy of President Bush "41"
Guest: Jim Pinkerton, syndicated columnist and contributor, Fox News Channel
Contest Winner: Patrick Turner, Hermosa Beach, CA

1989
Topic: Role of the U.S. in the world
Guests: Christopher Hitchens, columnist, Vanity Fair
Contest Winner: Christina Carlson, Lihue, HI

1990
Topic: Congressional scandals
Guest: Kwame Holman, Washington correspondent, The Newshour with Jim Lehrer (PBS)
Contest Winner: Maria Lyda, Tulsa, OK

1991
Topic: Supreme court nominations
Guest: Joan Biskupic, Supreme Court reporter, USA Today
Contest Winner: Joe Martin, Oceanside, CA

1992
Topic: The legacy of President Clinton
Guest: John Podesta, former Chief of Staff to President Clinton
Contest Winner: Judy Hammond, Alachua, FL

1993
Topic: Role of the media in covering Washington
Guest: Nick Gillespie, editor, Reason magazine
Contest Winner: Kathleen O'Donnell, Keene, NH

1994
Topic: GOP takeover
Guests: Former Rep. Tom Foley (D-WA) & Former Rep. Robert Walker (R-PA)
Contest Winner: Dain Pascocello, Hopewell Junction, NY

1995
Topic: Race relations
Guest: Commissioner Gerald Reynolds, U.S. Commission on Civil Rights
Contest Winner: Carolyn Ross, Oxford, MS

1996
Topic: Social Washington
Guest: Sally Quinn, author and former reporter for Style section of Washington Post
Contest Winner: Robert Meehan, Houston, TX

1997
Topic: Influence of talk radio
Guests: Randi Rhodes, "Randi Rhodes Show on Air America," and Janet Parshall, "Janet Parshall's America"
Contest Winner: Stephanie Clemens, State College, PA

1998
Topic: The Clinton impeachment
Guest: Matt Drudge, The Drudge Report
Contest Winner: Robert Ewoldt, Chicago, IL

1999
Topic: Violence in schools
Guest: Reg Weaver, president, National Education Association
Contest Winner: Andrew Ohmer, Indianapolis, IN

2000
Topic: President Bush "43"
Guests: Mona Charen, syndicated columnist & political analyst
Contest Winner: Krystal Reyes, Moline, IL

2001
Topic: International terrorism
Guest: Jessica Stern, professor, Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, and author
Contest Winners: Cesar Muedas, Brentwood, TN &
Diane Shockey, Gaylord, MI

2002
Topic: Corporate scandals
Guests: Marilyn Geewax, economics and technology correspondent, Cox News Service
Contest Winner: Andrew Emerson, Dallas, TX

2003
Topic: War in Iraq
Guests: William Kristol, editor, The Weekly Standard & Frank Rich, columnist, The New York Times
*Erika Barger, Grand Prize Winner in C-SPAN's Viewer Call-In Essay Contest, to co-host with C-SPAN's Brian Lamb this hour

2004/2005
Topic: Wrap-up and viewer calls
Contest Winner: Ron LueDecke, Palms, CA