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.
