CNN25: Monday Summary

Today through Thursday, I’ll be blogging from Atlanta, Georgia, site of the 2005 CNN World Report Conference and CNN’s 25th Anniversary Celebration.

On CNN/U.S., it’s hard to miss the signs of CNN’s anniversary week. “25” has been superimposed on the logo and frequent packages recall how the news network has covered 25 years of world events. Across the street from CNN Center, a giant yellow billboard proclaims CNN’s power:

“Before PC’s, CD’s, DVD’s, PDA’s and the Internet, there was the world’s first 24-hour news channel. Now you can’t imagine a world without it. CNN25: The first is still the best.”

“We were there before you knew you needed us,” CNN’s on-air promos point out (“acknowledging that for the first years of its existence, hardly anyone tuned in to Ted Turner’s cable network,” the Guardian says).

The World Report Conference commenced on Monday afternoon with registration and two workshops for attendees (“Field producing” and “Writing, packaging, and storytelling for news”). An opening reception featured TBS chairman and CEO Phil Kent and the mayor of Atlanta. The fun starts Tuesday morning with a keynote by the president of Iraq, via satellite from Baghdad…