In the early days of "Washington Journal", callers were not screened by ideology. This was changed at the recommendation of University of Maryland professor John Splaine, hired by C-SPAN to ensure the network's objectivity, who noticed that C-SPAN received a disproportionate number of calls from conservative viewers. "Washington Journal" producers now set up separate phone lines by party affiliation (Democrats, Republicans and Independents) and take alternate calls from each line. In some cases, a dedicated call-in line is made available for the international audience (outside the U.S. and Canada), or for a particular group of callers. For example, a program about college tuition may have a line for students and recent graduates. In the fall of 2006, "Washington Journal" recorded two shows in New Orleans and set up a call-in line for locals to tell their stories from Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.