Kristal here. I scored press credentials to watch the 2024 presidential debate alongside hundreds of other journalists inside CNN's spin room on Georgia Tech's campus Thursday night.
Why it matters: The access gave me an opportunity to sit back and observe how the university, the city of Atlanta and law enforcement handled the hordes of reporters, political operatives and others from around the world.
Catch up quick: First off, my ride-share driver's app didn't inform him roads around the campus were closed, so I navigated Google Maps for us.
The scene: When I arrived, it was…surprisingly calm. That's primarily because the roads around McCamish Pavilion — where the press gathered, less than a block from the studio — were blocked.
- Georgia Tech students walked to and from their destinations and played drinking games outside fraternity houses. Some seemed indifferent that history was happening around them.
- Young men and women on the lawn outside one frat house sipped drinks while Toby Keith's 2002 hit, "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" blared.
Inside the spin room, reporters representing local, national and international newspaper, TV and digital media outlets hacked away at their keyboards, chatted with colleagues and ate food from one of two eateries available: Chick-fil-A or Papa John's Pizza.
The intrigue: We felt disconnected from the studio where President Biden and former President Trump were facing off. Instead, it was like watching a debate in an enormous newsroom.
- Reporters regularly chuckled and shook their heads throughout the night, particularly when the candidates made comments about "Black jobs" and golf.
Once the debate wrapped, surrogate pundits and politicians marched into the spin room to give reporters their take on why their candidate "won," including Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina) and Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia), Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik, California Democratic governor Gavin Newsom and Vivek Ramaswamy.
- Reporters walked around clutching their phones, cameras and mics with their heads on a swivel trying to find politicians they can interview, often rushing — and nearly crushing each other in the process — when they landed on their target. (I almost got run over when Sen. J.D. Vance, a top contender for Trump's vice president pick, entered the room.)
The big picture: I can't help but to compare the historic debate to last August when reporters from around the world also gathered in Atlanta in anticipation of Trump's booking into the Fulton County jail.
- Who could have predicted that the world would turn its gaze to Atlanta a year later to watch a sitting and a former president spar in a debate?
The bottom line: All eyes were on Atlanta then, and CNN's decision to host the debate proves that the city truly influences everything.
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