How CNN got news from the Hunter Biden trial out of the courthouse
CNN runner Macayla Cook runs to deliver the news about the verdict in Hunter Biden's trial on June 11
By Macayla Cook, CNN
Wilmington, Delaware (CNN) — CNN relied on a system of runners to get notes from reporters watching the Hunter Biden trial to the world in real time. Here’s one runner’s description:
As a journalism student at the University of Delaware preparing for my final year of college before the real world, I jumped at the chance when one of my journalism professors sent me a text asking if I wanted to work for CNN.
There’s a very strict policy on electronics in the J. Caleb Boggs Federal Building that prohibits the usage of laptops and phones inside. This policy may have been a hassle, but I’m ultimately grateful for it, as it’s the reason I had a job during the trial.
My title of runner was extremely literal (as I learned the hard way when I wore boots to the first day of the trial), meaning I was taking notes from reporters in the courtroom and delivering them to a team of producers on the ground.
This is how CNN and many other media outlets maintained live updates during the trial; it was thanks to runners like me.
Of course, the job wasn’t easy, and I think the blisters speak for themselves, but they serve as a reminder of one of the coolest experiences of my life so far. Day after day, I was tasked with carrying notes bearing the latest national news up and down three flights of stairs, which was a tedious task when the trial was slow and an utterly invigorating one when it wasn’t.
My record for runs was Monday, June 10, when I traversed the dimly lit, vaguely eerie stairs and braved security a total of 40 times.
By the end of the trial, I was on first-name basis with nearly all of the security guards. It all paid off though when we finally got to the verdict, and I believe I may have sprinted faster than I ever had to get that note to our producers on the ground.
If all goes according to plan, this will be far from the last court case I cover, but I would call this a pretty solid first trial.
The-CNN-Wire
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