A closer look at the
CNN Studio Tour
by Allen - CNNreporter forum member
CNN Center entrance on Centennial Olympic Park Drive
The
CNN Studio Tour is clearly a must for the real CNN Fan, so I don't
have to convince you to go on this tour. But I do want to give you
a more detailed look at the tour not described by CNN. The tour as
described by CNN (at
http://www.cnn.com/StudioTour )
includes access to an interactive exhibit area, a look at a
recreation of CNN's main control room, a demonstration of
TelePrompTers and weather maps, and a special presentation
showcasing the networks of Turner Broadcasting. Although this
sounds like a standard educational studio tour, there's more you
won't want to miss.
View from CNN Center from
Centennial Olympic Park / CNN Center entrance on Marietta Street /
CNN Center and the new Omni Hotel
tower
The
tour starts off with an escalator ride up 8 stories. The escalator
I was told is North America's longest. Nice, but don't get
sentimental about riding this escalator. Riding the escalator will
give you some of the best views of inside CNN Center, and
therefore you should take this opportunity to enjoy the view and
take pictures.
Talk Back Live set, studio tour starting point / North America's longest escalator
View from escalator / Inside CNN Center facing CNN Headline News Studio H and Omni Hotel
 
CNN en Espaņol newsroom /CNN International newsroom
In
the control room theater, you will see CNN on screen in ways
you've never seen it before. You will see different camera angles
of the anchors in the CNN newsroom, live. You will also see live
shots of correspondents in the field getting ready to go on air,
and graphics and videos in the queue ready to be played. During
the hour I took the tour (3 PM), two screens showed Kyra Phillips
and Miles O'Brien working on computers (perhaps reading your
e-mails) and waiting for Candy Crowley to complete her report. On
another screen John King was getting ready to report live from
Savannah, Georgia, and other screens showed Crossfire graphics
ready for later broadcast. These are all shots you will never see
on your TV. So if you are curious to see what anchors are doing
during a report or when a correspondent is talking, then don't sit
in the back of the theater--grab a front row seat on the left.
Next is the special effects room where you will learn more about
TelePrompTers and weather maps. The demonstrations here are not
specific to CNN, but if you have never seen a TelePrompTer or a "green
screen" (in this case blue) this is your opportunity to find out
more. The remainder of the tour includes visits to the actual
newsrooms themselves. Unfortunately, no pictures are allowed from
here on.
Inside The Turner Store: CNNfn & CNN Headline News
From
an observation room about one story up, you will see the CNN/U.S.
newsroom in action. What surprised me at first was how small the
U.S. newsroom appeared, but on second thought it was clear that
the newsroom cannot be seen completely from the observation room.
Here I saw "Live From" on air, with news gatherers, editors, and
other staff working on stories for later broadcast. In another
observation room, you will see the newsroom for Headline News and
one of the broadcast sets for this network. Staff can be seen
working at their computers putting together news stories for the
Headline News format. The live broadcast for Headline News was not
happening here, but at Studio H, which is seen later on the tour.
As you make your way to Studio H, you will run into the sections
for CNN International and CNN en Espaņol.
Inside The Turner Store: CNN en Espaņol & CNN Airport Network / Inside The Turner Store: CNN/U.S. & CNN International
The tour guide will
explain these networks, already familiar to you as a CNN Fan.
Forget about what the tour guide is saying, and don't get
distracted by the food court below. Instead take this moment to
look inside these studios and enjoy the scene.
Inside entrance on Marietta Street /
View from Omni Hotel atrium
Inside CNN Center facing food court and CNN/U.S. newsroom / View from food court
Inside entrance on Centennial Olympic Park Drive / Inside The Turner Store / The Turner Store
Studio
H is the last studio you will see on the tour, and this is where
most of the live broadcasts for Headline News occur. Here the view
is from behind the cameras and other controls. Enjoy the view of a
truly high-tech, state-of-the-art news studio. Chuck Roberts and
Sharon Collins were anchoring live at this hour. Back on the
ground level and next to the Turner Store, the tour concludes with
a video about the various Turner Broadcasting networks and a brief
message from Ted Turner.
The tour you take at the CNN Center may not be exactly as I
describe it. There may be slightly different routes and newsroom
visits on each tour, but regardless I suggest you choose tour
times wisely so that you are touring the studio when broadcasts
are live from Atlanta.
Former FOX News Channel billboard / CNN Center at night
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