The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please improve this article and discuss the issue on the talk page.(September 2012)
Government-access television (GATV) is cable channel capacity for local government bodies and other legislative entities to access the cable television systems to televise public affairs meetings.
At some (particularly national) broadcasters, "Public Affairs" may be a special unit, separate from the news department, dedicated to producing long-form public-affairs programming, as at the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation prior to 1992. As of 2012, C-SPAN's three networks are the most widely known and widely available public affairs channels in the United States.