close
close

Where is CNN hosting the debate in Atlanta?

Theo

The setting for CNN’s Atlanta debate is a modest studio and office complex in Midtown Atlanta, not the iconic downtown tower that served for decades as the network’s Atlanta headquarters.

But the space also dates to Ted Turner’s founding of the Cable News Network in 1980. CNN began in the studios of that same Midtown property that Turner purchased in 1979. CNN moved to what became CNN Center in 1987 after his first house outgrew it.

ExploreAll eyes on Atlanta: CNN prepares for presidential debate

CNN’s new owner, Warner Bros. Discovery, built a new space there for CNN in 2023, among its affiliated cable properties including TBS, TNT, Turner Classic Movies, Cartoon Network and truTV, as well as sports programming.

The Warner Bros. complex. Discovery Atlanta is known as the Techwood Turner Campus, named in honor of Ted Turner (in 2019) and for its address on Techwood Drive, north of downtown, between Georgia Tech and Atlantic Station. It is visible from I-75/85, known locally as the Downtown Connector.

For local reference, CNN is 1.8 miles from Varsity Restaurant on North Avenue, 2 miles from Coca-Cola headquarters, and less than a mile from the nearest intersection with Peachtree Street.

The framework of the debate

The AJC’s Rodney Ho reports that CNN is using Studio D, normally used for the “MLB on TBS” broadcast, for presidential candidates.

What else will viewers see? CNN has built an outdoor stage that will be used for some of its live programming before and after the debate. In wide camera shots, viewers can see the skyline of Midtown and downtown Atlanta.

What won’t they see? The huge CNN logo that has stood for years outside the CNN Center, renamed The Center. The exterior of the building does have a CNN logo near the roof, but it is one of several logos representing Cartoon Network and other properties that share the same address. The outdoor set for debate programming includes a red CNN logo at ground level, according to AJC journalists who visited it this week.

Related Posts