Mike Michaelson

At his retirement from C-SPAN in 1996, Mike Michaelson ended 48 years of broadcasting, in cable television and as a Congressional employee. His career spanned 3 years at radio station WWDC in Washington, DC from 1949 to 1951. He was promoted to assistant program director in 1950. He left in November of 1951 to take a position as a staff employee in the Radio-Television Correspondents’ Gallery in the House of Represntatives. Under the aegis of the Speaker of the House, the employees in the Gallery were responsible for coordinating and assisting radio and television correspondents in their coverage of the House. In July of 1974, Mike was promoted to Staff Director and served in that capacity for seven years until leaving to become the Executive Vice –President for C-SPAN on October 1, 1981. He served in that position until his retirement, October 1, 1996.

Mike was witness to and participated in many important Capitol events, the most notable was his media coordination of the House Judiciary’s Nixon impeachment hearings in 1974. In 1975, he assisted the electronic media in its coverage of the Kennedy assassination hearings. In 1977, he was responsible for logistically coordinating coverage by independent radio and television stations from across the country to the inaugural ceremonies held on the east front of the Capitol. Mike was particularly proud of prevailing upon the Speaker Carl Albert (D-OK) in 1974 to allow artist for the first time, to sit in the House Chamber to sketch debates

Mike was assigned the arduous task of coordinating media coverage to the national political conventions. Beginning in 1952 until 1996, Mike participate in every political convention and was fully responsible for coordinating coverage for over 3,000 independent broadcasters in each of the 1976 and 1980 conventions.

In 1981, Mike was asked by Brian Lamb, founder and CEO of the newly created cable news and public affairs network, to join him as executive vice president. Mike was proud that C-SPAN, during his tenure, achieved acceptance by Congress and others as a major player in the industry, controlled for so long by the commercial networks.

As executive producer of the 1984 political conventions, Mike coordinated the first de facto gavel-to-gavel coverage by the electronic media of a national convention, avoiding any commercial breaks and cut-a-ways or analysis. For his achievements, Mike was nominated for the coveted cable industry’s ACE award. Prior to his retirement, Mike was the author of a self-guided tour book of the Capitol, entitled Exploring the Capital.

While Mike’s love of the Capitol and C-Span was an integral part of his life, his creativity was endless. He painted, wrote plays, camped, traveled, loved fishing and the Redskins. He regularly worked out at the gym until he was 83 years old.

Mike was born April 25, 1924 in Richmond Virginia. After college and the Navy, he moved to Northern Virginia, where he raised 2 children, Deedee and Bob.

In 1977, he married Gloria Schreiber. They lived happily ever after until January 23, 2011.

Arrangements entrusted to Joseph Gawler's Sons Inc., Washington, DC.