Exploring Atlanta - CNN Center and the World of Coca Cola

This morning, after my free yummy breakfast (why does it taste better when it is free?) I headed out to the CNN Center in downtown Atlanta. The CNN Center is the world headquarters of the Cable News Network (CNN). The main newsrooms and studios for several of CNN's news channels are located in the building. The facility's commercial office space is occupied entirely by CNN and its parent company, Turner Broadcasting System, a division of Time Warner.

Cable News Network (CNN) is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States. While the news channel has numerous affiliates, CNN primarily broadcasts from its headquarters at the CNN Center in Atlanta, the Time Warner Center in New York City, and studios in Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles. CNN is owned by parent company Time Warner, and the U.S. news channel is a division of the Turner Broadcasting System. CNN is sometimes referred to as CNN/U.S. to distinguish the American channel from its international counterpart, CNN International. As of August 2010, CNN is available in over 100 million U.S. households. Broadcast coverage extends to over 890,000 American hotel rooms, and the U.S broadcast is also shown in Canada. Globally, CNN programming airs through CNN International, which can be seen by viewers in over 212 countries and territories. It was quite a fascinating look behind the scenes and the inner workings of gathering and producing the news.

Just down the road is The World of Coca-Cola which is a permanent exhibition featuring the history of The Coca-Cola Company and its well-known advertising as well as a host of entertainment areas and attractions. Guests can sample 64 products offered by The Coca-Cola Company worldwide in the Taste It! exhibit, including most of the products offered in the United States. One room with a giant Coca-Cola contour bottle features only products that include the name "Coca-Cola" or a variation in their titles, including Coca-Cola Classic, Diet Coke, and most currently-available variations on the original formula (including Coca-Cola Vanilla, Coca-Cola Zero, Coca-Cola Cherry, and others). There is also a Coca-Cola Freestyle self-serve machine, which can dispense a guest's choice of over 100 carbonated and non-carbonated beverages produced by the company.
What a cool experience. I think I like Atlanta very much!