View in browser

An exclusive inside look with your free CNN account

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.  

What are you most looking forward to?   

Inauguration Day on Capitol Hill always feels like a special moment since we’re witnesses to an important part of American history and the peaceful transfer of power from one administration to the next.  President Obama’s first Inauguration in 2009 will always stand out to me since it was my first time standing up on Capitol Hill and seeing the massive crowds stretch down the National Mall past the Washington Monument and toward the Lincoln Memorial.  This year will also be memorable since we’ll be watching the Inauguration take place in the Rotunda for the first time in 40 years.   

The inauguration is also a proud moment since it marks the end of an unprecedented election cycle for Special Events and the CNN team.  We’ve covered everything from primaries, midterm elections, town halls, debates (including our June Presidential Debate which more people watched than any other program in CNN history), conventions and election night.  This is really the culmination of two years of election events that we’ve planned and coordinated so it’s always nice when it’s over and we can take a breath and get ready to start planning for the next election cycle (I’m looking at you, RNC Houston 2028!)    

What can viewers expect this year? 

As always, CNN is prepared to cover the entire day of events with the best team of journalists, production and technical staff there is. Our special coverage begins at 7am ET and we’ll cover arrivals, including former presidents and the arrival of President Biden and President-elect Trump.  The swearing in will happen sometime before noon (it was 11:44am in 2021) and we heard this week that Carrie Underwood will be on site to sing “America the Beautiful” during the ceremony. Our last inauguration coverage in 2021 was scaled back due to COVID and social distancing, and while this year’s activities are changing due to the cold weather, CNN’s production and editorial teams are also pivoting to bring everything on Capitol Hill and at the re-imagined parade to our viewers.  The Inaugural balls will be back again, and our team at the Commander-in-Chief Ball will be a large part of our evening primetime coverage with all the glitz and glamour that we missed in 2021.    

🎬   Remember a Legend

From his childhood in Italy to his athletic superstardom, trace the story of one of the greatest players of all time five years after the tragedy.