In the age of digital media, Cable News Network (CNN) provides readers and viewers with coverage of breaking news stories, opinions pieces, Virtual Reality videos, and a wide variety of online articles and videos. But, in addition to offering a digital newspaper on its website, CNN is an international television network that provides viewers with live coverage and commentary on breaking news reports.
Courtesy of Mr. Paul Callan.
CNN has an international team comprised of about 4,000 news professionals, according to CNN. Under the ownership of the Time Warner Company, the network has world headquarters in Atlanta, London, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong, according to CNN. CNN employees include writers, editors, anchors, and reporters.
CNN produces multiple news shows, such as “At This Hour” with CNN anchor and host Ms. Kate Bolduan, “Erin Burnett Out Front” with CNN anchor Ms. Erin Burnett, and “New Day” with hosts Mr. Chris Cuomo and Ms. Alisyn Camerota.
At the CNN studio in New York City, many employees work behind the scenes to report, film, edit, and run footage. Additionally, CNN uses flash studios that help facilitate the process of creating live shows with multiple people on air. Flash studios allow cameras to capture footage of reporters, commentators, or guests in a different place and implant it into the news show footage. This allows the show’s host to be concurrently on air with an additional person or multiple people.
In addition to shows, members of different bureaus of the CNN network in the United States collaborate to produce informative and accurate articles, which they publish for their multi-million viewership base.
CNN Legal Analyst Mr. Paul Callan gave a brief overview of the meticulous process that goes into publishing an article with CNN, which hosts the fourth largest website in the world.
Courtesy of Mr. Paul Callan.
“When I write a column, a legal column, that will be published, it goes to a unit here in New York, and it’s reviewed and edited. They may say, ‘Well, you know this phrase would be a better phrase,’ but then they start looking at the facts and they send it to Atlanta where there is a group of individuals. As a matter of fact it’s called ‘The Row,’ and you have to survive ‘The Row,’” Mr. Callan said. “One of them will be a legal expert, one of them might be a historical expert, and they will be looking at the column saying, ‘The columnist has said this. How do we know it is true?’ And they will then proceed to double source you.”
Recently, social media has increasingly affected the journalism field, as it influences writers’ ideas for articles and spreads news quickly.
“When I publish an article about a breaking news story, I will always use Facebook and I will use Twitter to publicize links to the story. That then increases my audience,” Mr. Callan said.
Furthermore, Mr. Callan emphasized the idea that journalists must maintain their writing skills in order to produce quality articles.
“[T]he development of very good writing skills is very important, and I fear that in the digital age, for young people there is a danger of losing your writing skills because so much is the visual arts that we see online, as opposed to sitting down and writing long formal articles,” Mr. Callan said.
Ultimately, Mr. Callan offered advice to students who are aspiring to be journalists.
“[G]ive yourselves a wide liberal arts background that will make you a person who has the ability to analyze and study any kind of a problem,” Mr. Callan said. “Take those liberal arts skills, focus them on the news of the day, and it will make you a better journalist.”
– Katie McCabe, Staff Writer
King Street Chronicle
King Street Chronicle
An inside look at CNN
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