CNN is set to provide extensive coverage of Inauguration Day as President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into the Oval Office for a second term. With special reporting from Washington, DC and beyond, CNN's live coverage will follow the day's events, as our anchors, correspondents and political experts weigh in on the historic day.
We spoke with Kara Manry, Supervising Producer of CNN Special Events, on her team's approach to this year's presidential inauguration and her thoughts on what viewers can expect.
How do you prepare to cover it?
This is my 5th inauguration working for CNN – 2009, 2013, 2017, 2021 and 2025 – and I've been a part of the team managing our set-up on Capitol Hill for all of them. We start planning months in advance and I'm always focused on how we can differentiate our coverage from what we've done in the past and from other networks. This year, as CNN continues to prioritize our digital experience for audiences, we'll have a more robust still photography presence and are helping to support the live vertical video that will be streaming on our digital platforms on Inauguration Day.
The overall scope of the Inauguration is huge and while the day starts on Capitol Hill with the swearing in of the new president, it continues with CNN's coverage of the Parade, the new president's arrival at the White House and finishes with the Inaugural Ball coverage at the end of the day. The Special Events team helps manage it all, from requesting live positions for CNN and the newsgroup; ordering power, phones, internet, & catering; staffing, hotels, credentials, putting together production schedules, working with editorial on programming plans; working with Field Engineering, Operations and Field Production on cameras, lenses and equipment, etc. When I started in Special Events, someone told me that we have to be involved in every little detail of the events – "from trash cans to transmission" – and they were absolutely right!
My time with CNN Special Events has definitely taught me that the best-laid plans don't always turn out the way you expected! On Friday, when we were about 95% set up for our coverage of the Inaugural ceremonies on the West Front of the Capitol, the decision was made that Monday's weather is going to be so cold that the outdoor swearing in ceremony, as well as the Inaugural Parade, were all going to move indoors. The weather is always a wild card, and this Inauguration is expected to be the coldest since 1985 when President Reagan's Inauguration also had to move indoors. The ceremony will be in the Rotunda of the US Capitol with a much smaller audience able to be in-person in the room, and the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies (JCCIC) is still working on a final plan and timeline for the day. Starting with my first Inauguration in 2009, there has always been mention of the "Foul Weather Plan" and what would happen if the weather was too bad for the ceremony to take place outside. It's made the last couple of days of planning extremely busy but also interesting to see all these long-held backup plans kick into action. The Presidential Inaugural Committee who are responsible for planning the parade have also had to create a new vision for that event, which is now being held inside Capitol One Arena, rather than slowly traveling up Pennsylvania Avenue toward the White House.
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